A Flame In The Dark
by ElvenRanger
Summary: This is the story of HeraldMage Devina Firedancer, the first female firestarter of Valdemar and Queen's Own. There's seriously a new chapter. I've been sucked in again...lol
1. Introduction

This is ElvenRanger here. I am now going to show off my Mercedes Lackey fandom by Writing a Mercedes Lackey fanfic.  
  
Yay!  
  
So far as I know, this is an original story. If it resembles someone else's story, I'm sorry, it's not my fault, the voices in my head made me do it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Valdemar series. If I did, this would be getting published.  
  
~~~~~  
  
The young girl sat in the darkness, complete except for one bright candle. The flame danced in the girls eyes, giving her eyes an orange glow. She hummed tunelessly, half to herself, and half to the flame, which jumped at every change in pitch.  
  
Out of the shadow came a cat the color of ash, with eerie crystal blue eyes. It twined against the girl, rubbing it's head against her hand as it meowed quietly.  
  
"Hello, Siri." the girl said, stroking the cat absently with one hand, not taking her eyes from the candle. "You are the only one in this gods forsaken place that loves me. The only thing that cares."  
  
The flame dimmed at these words, and she smiled. "And you, bright flame, that lights up the darkness of my soul." she held out her hand, palm up, and the flame jumped into her hand, resting lightly above her palm. It grew taller, and turned into a little person made of flame, that danced around on the girl's hand. She smiled, watching the flame person tumble about on her hand. Then it turned back into a regular flame again.  
  
"I have to go to sleep now." She said to the flame. "You sleep too." It jumped back onto the candle and snuffed out, leaving the girl in darkness once again.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Kay. That was the intro. The action is coming up in the next chapter. Hopefully peoplewill hang with me for the next one. Oh well.  
  
Review! 


	2. Chapter 1

I'm being nice and putting up another chapter of this today.  
  
I like this story. Mercedes Lackey is cool  
  
I hope people pick up on this story. I think it's really a fairly good story. Well, I suppose I'm pretty biased, but that's besides the point.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Valdemar series. Blarg.  
  
"Blah"-speech 'Blah'- thoughts  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Get up, girl!"  
  
Devina poked her head out of the small closet that served as her "room." All it held were her sleeping materials, a candle, and what few personal belongings she had. Siri dashed out through Devina's legs as the girl stepped out into the hallway, seeing Mikal disappear around the corner. Mikal was a tall man, with curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a stubbley beard. His clothes were worn, but fairly clean. Mikal was Devina's stepfather. Her mother had died when Devina was three, and Mikal had "taken care of her" since then. Mikal was not an especially nice man. Any disobedience meant punishment.  
  
Devina was a tall and willowy fifteen year old, with wavy brown hair and green-brown hair. She was dressed in a brightly colored skirt and a white shirt with no sleeves. Her clothes were as worn as Mikal's, though they were cleaner. Mikal insisted that all the girls in his brothel were well groomed, even the ones that were not "for sale."  
  
Devina walked down the stairs to the kitchen, running a hand through her hair as she went. The cook looked up when she walked in. "Hurry up and light that fire! I've got work to do, and I'm behind now because of you!" The big man brandished a large knife threateningly. Devina went quickly to the fireplace and knelt in front of it. She stared intently at the wood and after a few moments it burst into flames. She watched it for a moment, fascinated by the beauty of it.  
  
"Girl," said the cook. Devina snapped out of her reverie, picking herself up off the dirty floor. "Get going on the room fires. Then get back down here straight after."  
  
"All right, I'm goin', don't get so excited." She said. She immediately knew she had misspoken when he grabbed her roughly by the arm, twisting it till she gasped with pain.  
  
"Your gifts," he sneered. "Are the only things that keep you here, with a roof under your head and food to eat. Otherwise, Mikal would have thrown you out on the street like the trash you are. You're as brainless as your mother was, you stupid girl. So speak to me with more. humility." He said, throwing her to the ground at the last word.  
  
"Yes sir, I'm sorry sir." She said, cringing on the floor.  
  
"Better, chit. Now get to work." He said then went back to his cooking.  
  
Devin a picked herself up carefully, wincing as she rubbed the spot where he had grabbed her. She could feel a bruise forming. She walked silently out of the kitchen to start the fires in the private rooms.  
  
By the time she was done, she had a slight headache, but nothing that would get her out of her duties. So she reported back to the kitchen, where the cook grudgingly gave her a piece of meat between two pieces of bread. She devoured it hungrily, this being the only meal she got all day.  
  
As soon as she was finished, the cook threw a serving tray at her. She caught it clumsily, and got a sneer from the cook. She looked down at the tray in bafflement.  
  
"Sir, I'm not..." she began.  
  
"Well today you are. Wendi got sick, and there's naught to replace her." He saw her pleading look and shook his head, a malicious smile on his face "None of your puppy-dog eyes, now. You're serving and that's that." The knife was once again brandished, and she walked out with sinking heart.  
  
The serving girls were always being touched, fondled. They didn't mind anymore, they were long used to it. Devina was not. Because of her abilities, Devina had been spared from being of "common" use. She had occasionally taken a job to get a little money for food when the cook shorted her. But she had always been able to be very selective of the men she entertained. The serving girls were expected to entertain any man that paid the right amount.  
  
'That lazy bastard.' Devina thought as she made her way to the main room. 'he's punishin' me for disrespectin' 'im.'  
  
She got to the door of the main room and accepted the tankards of beer. Beer, wine and girls were the only things sold here, and men typically did not come here for the spirits.  
  
The next two hours were torture for Devina. None of the men requested her services, but they grabbed at her, and had her sit on their laps for a short time. She did what was required, she shrieked and giggled when the did that, and smiled like a fool, but inside she was screaming. Then, after she had gotten her seventh round of beer, a man caught her skirt.  
  
"How much?" he asked. He looked to be a lower noble, maybe a second or third son. His hair was a dirty blond, his eyes a watery brown. He would have seemed harmless, except for the fact that his face had a cruel look on it.  
  
"One gold." She said quietly. He nodded in acquiescence, and then took her by the arm, thankfully lower than where the cook had grabbed her earlier. The other girls gave her cruel smiles as she passed. They held no love for her.  
  
He paid as they walked out of the room, then he directed her toward the private areas. 'Oh gods, oh gods...' she thought over and over again.  
  
They were now in one of dark hallways that the brothel provided. The man stopped and turned to her. 'Oh gods, not here!' she thought desperately.  
  
"I haven't had any fun for a while." He said, stroking her cheek awkwardly.  
  
She bowed her head meekly, and tried to continue down the hallway. "Please sir, there are better places..."  
  
The man caught her hands and pinned her against the wall. "No." he whispered. "Here." Devina could tell from his breath that the man was drunk. The man started kissing her roughly, bruising her lips. He let go of her hands to unbutton her shirt with clumsy fingers. She tried to push him away, and he hit her and pinned her to the wall with his body, hastily trying to undo his breeches. He touched the bruise the cook had given her, and she whimpered in pain. The man smiled maliciously and squeezed his hand on it.  
  
'Oh gods, someone help me!' she thought desperately. But she knew there were no Heralds around to hear her thoughts. Suddenly there was a loud yowling, and the man suddenly let her go, clutching his head. Devina, now unsuported, slid to the floor, watching with amazement. Siri clung to the man's head, which was bleeding now from a dozen scratches. Devina hastily fumbled with her shirt buttons, trying to cover herself. The man ripped Siri of his head, flung the cat to the floor, and stepped on him, breaking the cat's spine.  
  
Devina let out a soft scream, and tears flowed down her face as she stared at the only thing that had ever loved her.  
  
"Filthy beast." The man muttered, and turned back to Devina, determined to finish what he had started.  
  
Devina's eyes hardened. She stood up facing him, and the lamps flashed into light all down the hall. "No more!" she said. The man burst into flames. He screamed, and fell onto the floor, writhing in pain. Devina didn't notice. She had backed up against the walls, her eyes wide and unseeing.  
  
"I can hear them all!" She said to no one. "They're in my head! All of them! They're all sick! I have to make it stop!" she walked down the hallway toward the main room, the walls bursting into flames behind her.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Well, that was a lot of actin for the first chapter, eh? I don't think it gets much worse than this. Well, it might, but that's besides the point.  
  
**Review Response Time**  
  
Trina Ti: Well, I hope you liked this chapter.  
  
cat: I hope I can hold your interest (  
  
Artemis-chan: the chapters will be longer than the intro, which is exactly what that was. And what I mean is that she is probably not the first female firestarter, but in my story she is the only one with enough power to be recognized as a great firestarter. And isn't firestarting like the rarest Gift?  
  
FireHeart: Are you going to keep that penname this time?  
  
Magdellin: She really doesn't have all that much control, it's mostly just natural ability and the fact that the channel was only open a tiny bit. Plus, her mage Gift helps.  
  
Thanks a ton for your reviews. I would like more. Reviews are good.  
  
Review please. 


	3. Chapter 2

Yay, new characters! I like Heralds. They're fun. Plus, they have mindspeech.  
  
This is a fun story for me to write. I hope you all are enloying my story as much as I am. Yay!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Valdemar. But all the characters you have not heard of in the books are mine!..."Cept maybe one...but that will be later so you guys don't have to worry your pretty little heads about it.  
  
"Blah" - speech  
  
'Blah' - thoughts  
  
:Blah: - Mindspeech  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Whole building burned-"  
  
"No survivors-"  
  
"Heard it was intentional-"  
  
"What's going on here?" asked a commanding voice. The crowd that had gathered turned to see a Herald in full whites approaching them, his Companion at his side.  
  
"There's been a fire in a brothel 'round the corner. The Guard won't let us see." Said one of the men in the crowd.  
  
"Stand aside please." The Herald said courteously. The crowd parted and the Herald and his Companion walked through.  
  
:What do you think, Senna?: He mindspoke to his Companion.  
  
:I can still sense that presence we felt earlier, Chosen.: Senna replied :But I can't tell where it is exactly.:  
  
:That's all right, dearheart.: he said, patting her on the neck, as they turned a corner and surveyed the damage.  
  
The building was still smoking, but nothing more than a few wispy tendrils that were barely visible against the early morning sky.. The entire building was charred, all three stories of it. Part of the third story had collapsed. There was something odd about it that the Herald couldn't place, until he realized that the few windows in the building were shut, and that the establishments on either side had not burned. 'That's odd.' He thought. Usually a fire in Haven was disastrous, because it spread to the other buildings so quickly.  
  
:In there.: Senna said.  
  
:You sure?: he asked.  
  
:Positive.: she replied. The Herald sighed. Earlier this evening he and Senna had sensed a powerful Gift being activated. He and his Companion had a knack for sensing developing Gifts. It was like a Gift, except it was not something he could block or shield against. He always knew what kind of mind-magic someone had, and whether or not it was an active Gift.  
  
One of the guards approached them. "We've got the fire mostly under control, Herald..." the man trailed off, hoping the Herald would supply him with a name.  
  
"-Herald Kyle." The herald said, surveying the damage with keen blue eyes. He was tall, with long, elegant fingers and an odd, catlike grace. His face was handsome, with a thin nose, full lips, and a tanned complexion. His shoulder length brown hair was tied back into a horsetail, though a few strands had escaped imprisonment. His face was grim, but it seemed awkward on his face. "Anyone killed?"  
  
"Anyone?" the guard said. He laughed bitterly. "Everyone was killed, Herald." He said, his voice strained. "Every person who went in tonight never came out."  
  
Kyle took a deep shuddering breath, and put a hand over his eyes. "Has anyone gone in to check for survivors?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"Not yet." The guard said.  
  
Kyle sighed deeply. "Wait for me outside, Senna." He said to his Companion. She nuzzled him briefly.  
  
:Be careful, Kyle.: she said.  
  
:I will.: he responded.  
  
He walked toward the building, a slight breeze ruffling his hair. When he got to the door, he hesitated slightly.  
  
"That part of the building hasn't been burning for an hour or so." The guard said, noticing Kyle's hesitation. "The door shouldn't be hot."  
  
"What about blastback?" Kyle asked. When a fire ran out of air, it stopped burning, but if fire was reintroduced, a blastback occurred.  
  
"Nah." Said the guard. "When the third floor collapsed, it made a hole straight to the first floor."  
  
Kyle nodded, and tested the door's handle. It was a little warm, but when he tried to open the door it wouldn't budge. He cursed softly and kicked the door. Weakened by fire, it collapsed under the force of his blow, leaving the doorknob still attached to the doorframe. Curious, Kyle examined the lock to find that it had been welded to the doorjamb. "Odd." He said softly, then walked inside.  
  
The first thing he noticed was the smell, a mixture of charred wood and charred flesh. It was a revolting smell, but Kyle had a job to do, so he breathed through is mouth and tried not to notice. There were bodies everywhere, most of them burned so badly they were beyond recognition. He went to one door and opened it, then yelped and jumped back when the body of a woman fell out, half of her face black and cooked.  
  
:Chosen?: Senna asked, alarmed.  
  
:I'm all right, dearheart.: He said, catching his breath. :Something startled me.: he sent her an image of the body.  
  
:Ew...: she sent back.  
  
'Ah, the life of a Herald.' he thought as he stepped gingerly around the woman's body and walked through the door into a hallway. He lowered his shields slightly, and used his thoughtsensing Gift. 'There...second door on the left.' He thought as he Felt a person.  
  
He walked down the hallway and opened the door. It was another hallway that would have been dark except for the small windows near the top of the wall. The person he had sensed was a teenage girl, about fourteen or fifteen, who sat against one of the walls. Her brown hair was singed, and she had minor burns all over her body. Her green-brown eyes stared blankly ahead at a charred skeleton that was propped against the opposite wall. Both her hands were very badly burned, but one of them slowly stroked the body of a gray cat that lay on her lap.  
  
"Miss?" Kyle said, squatting down next to her. She did not respond.  
  
"Child, are you all right?" he asked, his eyes scanning her face for some response.  
  
Her face remained impassive.  
  
He sighed. :Senna, I found her.: He sent, along with an image of the girl.  
  
:We need to get her to the Healer's.: Senna sent.  
  
:Contact Rolan. I think Talia could-:  
  
"I can hear you." The girl said suddenly, her voice raw from the smoke. Kyle jumped and looked at her sharply. "In my head." She put one burned hand to her forehead and winced. "You're so loud..."  
  
Immediately Kyle put up the strongest shield he could around her. She looked up, and a ghost of a smile flitted over her face.  
  
"Thank you." She whispered.  
  
"Miss, what happened here?" he asked gently. He glanced at the skeleton.  
  
"I killed him." She said, her voice flat and expressionless. "He killed Siri, tried to hurt me. So I hurt him. I hurt them all." She coughed. "They all wanted it," she continued. "I heard them all, in my head." Now she looked up at him for the first time, and he was astounded by the despair in her eyes. "All they were thinking about was sex, or booze, or drugs. They were all sick. They were screaming inside. S-so I burned them." Tears started to form in her eyes as her emotional wall started to break down. "I burned... I burned them all!" the last few words came out as a wail, as she burst into tears.  
  
Kyle instinctively put his arms around the girl, making shushing noises like his mother used to do. The girl clung to him as well as her burned hands would allow, sobbing brokenly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she repeated over and over again.  
  
"Shhh," he said. "it's all right, everything will be all right." But as he stroked the girl's hair comfortingly, he realized that he really didn't know if it was going to be all right.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Guess what happens? Yep, more issues. Well, time for Review Response Time.  
  
Studio Audience: Yay!  
  
Etcetera cat: I understand that your biased toward kitties. I promise that there will be no more cruelty against felines.  
  
RonethDragon Tiamat: Yes I know you know things they don't know. And I will edit if I feel like it! Nyah!  
  
Herald Mistylenna: I like firestarters. And empaths. A firestarter empath would be coooool...  
  
Flame o' Darkness(or whatever name you are now): No, I'm sorry to say they were just plain wood.  
  
Trina Ti: thanks for the compliment. I'm not sure I can get more descriptive than that though. And if you're talking about the harassment bit, that's just about the best you can get out of me.  
  
Me: I will tell you for the second time that that was not you! I would never have made you a character like that, and I don't put my friends into my stories. Cept when they belong in them, but that's not important. I'm sorry, darling, but the world does not revolve around you.  
  
Okay, now that I've responded to what you all have to say...  
  
REVIEW! 


	4. Chapter 3

Do di doooooooooooo...  
  
I'm bored. I'm going to write another chapter of this because I'm bored after I post this.  
  
La la laaaaaaaaa...  
  
Hmmm... and I haven't even had any sugar today. Oh well.  
  
Oh, something actually important to say. Magdellin brought to my attention a line in the last chap. that was a little odd. I reread it and realized it went with neither the character nor the fanfiction, so I went back and fixed it. If you've been following this story, I suggest you go back and read the end over again. It gives you a better, though slightly different perspective of the character's mindset.  
  
Arg, too much seriousness and long sentences. I like short sentences like:  
  
Good.  
  
And  
  
Yeah.  
  
Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know the drill, so do I really need to do it over again?  
  
'Blah'- thoughts "Blah"- Speech :Blah: -Mindspeech  
  
~~~~~  
  
Talia sat straight up in bed, waking up Dirk.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, sitting up next to her. She frowned slightly as she sorted out the different emotions Rolan was sending her.  
  
"Trouble." she said, and climbed out of bed.  
  
Dirk sighed, and got up as well. Talia turned and looked at him, as he started pulling on his whites "You don't have to." she started to say.  
  
"You're right. I don't have to. But I want to." He smiled crookedly. "Besides, I have to get up sometime."  
  
Talia smiled. When she had finished dressing, she opened the door quietly, Dirk following behind her. She walked through the halls of the Palace, and to the healer's collegium.  
  
:Dirk?: said Ahrodie.  
  
:Do you know what's going on?: Dirk asked.  
  
:Kyle sensed a Gift activating, so he and Senna went out to find it. It looks like we may have another Firestarter on our hands.: Ahrodie said.  
  
"Oh gods..." Dirk said.  
  
"What did Ahrodie say?" Talia asked, seeing the look on Dirk's face.  
  
"It's a Firestarter." He said. Talia quickened her pace.  
  
When they got to the Healer's collegium, it was bustling with activity. One of the healers approached when she spotted them. They walked as they talked.  
  
"Talia, it's good you're here. We've dealt with the girl's physical injuries, but she's an emotional wreck. The other mindhealers have tried, but I'm afraid they don't have as powerful a gift as you."  
  
Talia suddenly stopped in her tracks as a wave of emotion hit her. Sadness, fear, regret, despair, self-loathing...  
  
"Tali?" Dirk said, putting a hand lightly on her arm.  
  
She shook off his arm lightly, and went straight to where she could feel the emotions coming from, putting up as strong a shield as she could as she went. There was a girl lying on a bed in one of the rooms. Her hands lay on the bedspread, and were thickly wrapped in bandages. The girl stared off into space, and as Talia watched, a tear crept slowly down her face along a worn path.  
  
By the bed was Kyle, who watched the girl carefully. His Whites were stained and smudged with ashes and less nice things Talia did not care to think about. He stood up when Talia came in, Dirk following close behind.  
  
"What happened?" Talia asked him.  
  
"She's a Firestarter, the strongest I've ever seen. She has all forms of Mindspeech, including animal, and she has some Empathy too. She also has Mage Potential, but only enough for journeyman status. She burnt down an entire building, and killed everyone inside. All the channels opened at once, so she heard everyone in the brothel, and felt their emotions."  
  
"Gods, it's lucky she didn't burn down the entire city." Dirk said.  
  
"Truly." Kyle said. He looked at them pointedly. "What do we do about this? We can't protect her unless she's Chosen..."  
  
"We'll think about that later, Kyle." Talia said firmly. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to the girl, and held one of her bandaged hands in her own. "My name is Talia." She said, projecting security and love. "What's yours?"  
  
"Devina." The girl whispered.  
  
"Devina, do you think you could tell me what happened?" Talia asked, keeping her calm and gentle tone. "I think it will make you feel better."  
  
"I-I wasn't supposed to serve. I was special. I only...sold myself if I needed money. But, one of the girls got sick, so I had to... to serve." Devina swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "A-a noble paid for my services, and he started hurting me." she started breathing hard, and Talia projected even more love and security. Devina's breathing slowed, and she continued. "I was thinking in my head that someone would save me, and Siri appeared and attacked the man."  
  
"Who's Siri?" Talia asked.  
  
"He was my cat." Devina's eyes welled up with tears, and she choked a sob back.  
  
"It's all right dear." Talia said. "You can cry if you need to."  
  
"No, it's all right." Devina said, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand. "The man grabbed Siri off his head, and stepped on him." The tears threatened again, but the girl clenched her jaw for a moment, then continued. "Then the man tried to finish with me, and I got really angry, and he just caught on fire.  
  
"He screamed, and I could hear it in my head too." She said, her voice gaining pitch. "everyone was in my head, all talking at once. And so many of them were screaming inside too. And all the others were just so sick..." she trailed off, tears rolling down her face.  
  
"What happened after that?" Talia asked.  
  
"I burned them." Devina whispered, her face contorted with sorrow and horror. Then she suddenly screamed. "I BURNED THEM!!" she started sobbing, as little flames burst into life on the bedspead. Dirk and Kyle quickly put them out.  
  
"Devina?" Talia said quietly. After a few moments the sobbing subsided. "Devina, I can help you with your emotions if you want me to. I can make it hurt less. Do you want me to?"  
  
Devina looked up at Talia, meeting her eyes for the first time. "Help me." she whispered, so quietly Talia could barely hear it.  
  
Talia smiled, and got to work.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Oooooooooookay. Scary psycho girl. Sort of.  
  
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannd nowwwwwwwww, it's time for  
  
READER RESPONSE! *Sparse applause*  
  
*Glares at audience*  
  
Herald Mistylenna: Yes she will be Chosen, but I'm not going to tell you when. I'm annoying that way.  
  
Askevwrong(or whatever you are): That's uh, nice. *Edges away slowly*  
  
RonethDragon Tiamat: I must agree with you that Firestarting is a freaky Gift. But it's fun to write about.  
  
LeopardDance: I make to you the same promise I did to etcetera cat. There will be no cruelty against felines. Since I do not have this story all planned out, I cannot promise that there will be no violence against other creatures.  
  
Magdellin: Thanks so much for pointing that error out to me. I didn't want her to sound mean like that. And she will be Chosen. *Grins evilly* Gee, I suppose Firestarter Empaths are fun...  
  
Etcetera-cat: Heh heh heh... She's both.  
  
All right, now I have one job for you all...  
  
  
  
Review!!!! 


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, this is a long chapter because I needed to clear things up, and I didn't want to have to spread it out over a long period of chapters.  
  
So, be happy.  
  
Please do not worry, she will be Chosen eventually. I've gotten a thought that keeps floating around in my head and it won't leave me alone, but I'm not sure if I'm going to let it run wild or not.  
  
I refuse to write any more disclaimers. I've probably written around 30 amusing ones by now, and I don't feel like writing another thing merely to amuse you. Nyah!  
  
'Blah' - Thoughts "Blah - Speech :Blah: - Mindspeech  
  
~~~~~  
  
(two days later)  
  
"She's too unstable. Even if she was trained, there would still be no assurance she could keep her Gift in check."  
  
"We don't know that! She's shown herself to be very strong willed."  
  
"Even those with strong wills can lose control-"  
  
"Calm yourselves, both of you!" Talia said, her eyes blazing. Kyle looked up in amazement at her. He had never heard Talia raise her voice.  
  
"There is no choice in this matter." She said, her voice resuming its normal pitch. "Devina must be trained. I've taught her how to ground and center, and build shields, but I have no experience with Mindspeech, Firestarting, or magery. She must be taught."  
  
"She hasn't been Chosen..." Kyle began.  
  
Talia sighed. "No, she hasn't. I don't know why. She has all the attributes of a Herald. I'd have thought she would have been Chosen by now." She shook her head. "That makes no difference. She has to be trained in her Gifts."  
  
"The Guard will begin to suspect her. They are already saying that the fire was arson." Kyle said. "It will get out that the girl who lived through that fire was a Firestarter, and they will execute her for murder."  
  
"She did melt the locks." Dirk said, as though reluctant to point out that fact. "She locked them in."  
  
"The poor girl had gone insane." Talia said. "Empathy is a potent gift. I should know." Talia looked at the ground. "It nearly destroyed me." Dirk reached out and held her hand, twining his fingers around hers. She looked up at him and smiled. "I've spoken with Selenay. She believes that we should try and train her. A Firestarter is a valuable asset to the crown."  
  
"Who will train her in magery?" Dirk asked. "I'd think it'd have to be someone we can trust not to talk. The only ones I can think of are Darkwind, Elspeth, Treyvan, and Hydona. But I'd think she would be afraid of the gryphons, and possibly Darkwind as well."  
  
"I'll introduce Devina to Elspeth, and maybe Hydona. I think Devina will be more comfortable around females for the time being." Talia said.  
  
"But the only one who even has a hint of Firestarting is Griffon." Dirk pointed out. "And he's male."  
  
"We'll have to work that out." Talia said. She smiled slyly at him. "You taught Griffon, didn't you? _And_ she isn't afraid of you."  
  
Dirk paled, and he floundered for an answer.  
  
"Griffon didn't have the power to blow up Haven." Kyle said quietly. The couple stared at him in shock. "And possibly a large part of the surrounding countryside." He added as an afterthought.  
  
"Her Gift's that strong?" Dirk asked. Kyle nodded. Dirk looked deeply confused.  
  
"Dirk, we knew she was powerful." Talia said, misunderstanding his confusion.  
  
"That's not it." Dirk said, frowning. He shook his head. "If she's that powerful, she must have had some control over it, otherwise she _would_ have destroyed Haven. Or she would have destroyed a large area of Haven, and burned herself up."  
  
"I think we need to have a little talk with Miss Devina." Kyle said.  
  
))^^((#%#))^^((  
  
(The next day)  
  
Talia decided to kill two birds with one stone, and asked Elspeth to come with her to talk to Devina.  
  
"So she's mage talented, has all forms of Mindspeech, Empathy, and the strongest Firestarting ability since Lavan Firestorm? And she set fire to an entire brothel full of people and killed them, when she could just as easily set fire to all of Haven? And she hasn't been Chosen?"  
  
"Yep." Said Talia.  
  
"Good, then I have no reason to be intimidated by her." Elspeth said, grinning crookedly as they walked toward Devina's room in the Healer's Collegium.  
  
- - -(POV change)  
  
"Devina?"  
  
Devina looked up from the book she was reading as Talia entered with a woman following behind her. The woman's hair was nearly entirely white, but Devina got the distinct feeling that she was younger than Talia. Her eyes were a silver brown color.  
  
"Devina, this is Elspeth, one of my oldest friends." Talia said. Elspeth smiled.  
  
"Hi." Elspeth said.  
  
Devina sat there, her eyes wide with surprise. Elspeth. _Princess_ Elspeth. The first Herald-Mage since Vanyel Elspeth. The Herald in love with a Hawkbrother Elspeth. She had already gotten used to Talia, the Queen's Own and priestess of Vkandis(Though the last one seemed kind of weird to Devina), but now she had to deal with another living legend?  
  
"You might want to breathe, dear. You're turning blue." Elspeth said. Devina choked, and gasped in air. "Are you all right?" Elspeth asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.  
  
"Elspeth, you forget that your reputation precedes you." Talia said, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.  
  
"Ah, yes..." Elspeth said. She smiled at Devina apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
"That's all right." Devina said, smiling back.  
  
Elspeth looked down at Devina's book. "What are you reading?"  
  
Devina blushed and looked down. "It's the story of Lavan Firestorm." She said quietly.  
  
"Good choice," said Elspeth. "Very fitting, I think."  
  
"Well, I figured I should know what I'm getting into." Devina said. She looked up at the two women standing by her bed. "Please, sit." She said, gesturing to the chairs. The two took a seat, muttering words of thanks.  
  
"Devina, we have some questions for you." Talia said.  
  
Devina swallowed. "About what?" she said quietly.  
  
"How long have you been able to start fires?" Talia asked. She wasn't smiling, but her face was gentle, and Devina could feel that she wasn't in trouble. Yet. She relaxed visibly.  
  
"As long as I can remember." She said. "When I was little, I would play with the candle flames. And then when I got older Mikal, my father and the brothel owner, put me to work lighting fires around the place, in the kitchen and in the guest rooms."  
  
"He knew you were a Firestarter?" Elspeth said incredulously. "And he didn't send you to the Collegium to be trained?"  
  
"No." said Devina. "He said I was too useful to be sent to the Collegium." Elspeth swore under her breath, and Devina was oddly pleased. 'I wouldn't think a princess would know those words.' She thought idly.  
  
"Well," Elspeth said, regaining her composure. "The good thing about that is you are no longer liable for your actions. He knew you were a Firestarter and he used you. I don't think anyone would blame you, Devina."  
  
"But I started the fire." Devina said. "I still don't remember what happened after I set that man on fire. The next thing I remember after that is that Herald, Kyle, talking to me. And it was so quiet, I knew I'd killed them all." Tears shined in her eyes.  
  
"Devina, the one at fault here is your father, not you. He knew Firestarting is dangerous if not properly trained. He was a fool, and he paid a fools price." Elspeth said. Devina's eyes threatened to spill, and she rubbed them roughly with the back of a bandaged hand.  
  
"How are your hands doing?" Talia asked, changing the subject.  
  
"The Healers say they should be fine by the end of the week, just like the rest of me. They've been healing me a lot."  
  
"Well they don't have much to do." Elspeth said. "We Heralds have been having an unusually healthy streak."  
  
"Ay, Elspeth, don't jinx it!" said Talia, a smile on her face.  
  
"Devina, I hate to get back to the subject..." Devina giggled. "But I have one more question. You said you played with the candle flames. Is it possible you could show me?" There was an unlit candle by Devina's bed, and Elspeth went to the fireplace to light it.  
  
"No!" Devina said. Elspeth stopped and looked at her. "Please, I can do it."  
  
"All right." Elspeth relented. "But I'm going to set it on the floor here, all right?" she said as she placed the candle and it's holder on the floor, and stepped back.  
  
Devina stared at the wick, willing the flame to be, but instead of the flame bursting softly into life, it roared into being, blazing up to the ceiling before settling down to a small flame. Devina looked at the candle, baffled and scared.  
  
"I- I don't know why it did that." She said. "It never did that before. I don't understand."  
  
"Hmmm...I was right." Elspeth said, nodding her head.  
  
"Right about what?" Devina asked.  
  
"Devina, Gifts flow through things called channels, usually they are either closed or open, or in the case of Heralds, they open slowly with the help of their Companion. You, apparently, have had the channel open just a tiny bit, enough to do small things with the Gift, so you used it to its full extent. But now, it's opened all the way, and your proportions are messed up. Does that make sense?"  
  
Devina frowned, then nodded slowly. "I suppose so." She said.  
  
"Do you still want to try and show us how you play with fire?" Talia asked.  
  
"Yes." Devina said quietly.  
  
- - -(Another POV Change)  
  
Elspeth invoked her mage sight as Devina stared at the flame and held out her hand. The flame jumped into the girl's palm, floating above her bandaged hand. Suddenly it gained distinctly human characteristics, and started doing acrobatic tricks on Devina's hand. Elspeth could see the magic energy flow around the girl. 'Gods!' Elspeth thought. 'She's using her magic to control her Firestarting Gift!'  
  
"I did this the most." Devina said, her voice soft and almost dreamy. "Other times..." she tossed her hand lightly, and the flame split into two parts; two people, who started to do a kind of ballet. Then they melted together to make one person again. "I did other things too, but I'm afraid of tossing fire about indoors." Elspeth got a little chill at those words. Devina stared at the fire a moment, then sighed. "Good-bye." she said quietly to the flame, then blew on it, extinguishing the flame.  
  
All three of them jumped in surprise when the fire in the fireplace went out with a whoosh. They stared at the fire for a long moment as they listened to the astonished and unhappy shouts of the Healers.  
  
"Why," said Devina as she stared at the fireplace. "Do I get the feeling that the same thing happened throughout the Palace?"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Hey! Well that got a lot of things cleared out of the way. Me am happy.  
  
*retarded smile* Me am Superman. Hee hee hee.  
  
Reader Review Response Time!!!!  
  
Hmmmm... me thinks I should have a song. Hmmm...  
  
Herald Mistylenna: Don't worry. It made sense.  
  
Magdellin: Yeah, ff.net has done that to me more than once. It sucks.  
  
LeopardDance: Uh, thanks...um, no more kitty violence, I promise.  
  
Me: No. No no no no no no no. That is never happening. Besides, I know exactly who she'll fall for. That is, if she falls for someone.  
  
Ashkevwrong: Poor nearby objects...  
  
etcetera-cat: Thank you for the compliment. I like compliments.  
  
Kattiko: I've never heard of that movie. Sounds interesting.  
  
Aaria: Most of her powers besides Mindspeech, Empathy, and Firestarting are very low level. And she completely doesn't have some Gifts! (Fetching, Farsight, Foresight)  
  
Thank you guys for your reviews.  
  
My mom is being bitchy, so I gotta post this quick. Bye! 


	6. Chapter 5

Hey!  
  
I am pleased to announce that a lot of the rest of this story will be co- written with my good friend RonethDragon Tiamat. Our two ML characters, Wingblade and Devina, will go on a *Cough* "Whirlwind big-city adventure," to quote Donkey. *Bursts out laughing.*  
  
Hahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahh...cough...choke...  
  
Thump.  
Well, I haven't done that in a while.  
  
Disclaimer: Look at the third chapter. I think that had a disclaimer.  
  
{Blah} -Thoughts "Blah" -Speech :Blah: -Mindspeech  
  
~~~~~  
  
(A week later)  
  
Devina sat next to a tree in Companion's Field reading a book. She reveled in the fact that she had time to do so, with how busy she had been in the past week. After she had put all the fires out in the entire Palace Complex, the queen had ordered that she be trained in her gift immediately. So for three days she had done nothing but start fires and put them out under Griffon's tutelage. She snickered as she remembered what had happened on the last day.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"One more time, Devina." Griffon said.  
  
"I've lit these candles a hundred times, and I'm starting to get a reaction headache-" she had complained.  
  
"Just light that candle!" Griffon snapped. He was jealous of the level of her Gift, and Devina knew it. {That's it.} She thought.  
  
Devina lit the candle easily, then called it into her hands. Before Griffon could react, she tossed it lightly at him. "Catch!"  
  
Griffon jumped as it landed on his Whites, and Devina tried not to laugh as he tried to put it out with his hands, his Gift forgotten. Devina let it burn for a moment, and then called the flame back to her. "We're done." She said shortly, and then with the flame still held in her hands, she walked away, leaving Griffon staring after her, dumbfounded.  
  
*End flashback*  
  
{At least after that he agreed that I didn't need anymore training} Devina thought. {I think he's a little afraid of me.} The next day, Herald Dirk had taught her about Mindspeech and how to use it. When he had told her she could talk to animals, she had spent the rest of the next day talking to squirrels and birds, and the odd cat or two when she wasn't practicing her Mindspeech with Dirk or learning to use her mage Gift with Elspeth. Yesterday she had been given a room in the Heraldic Collegium and had met Elspeth's husband Darkwind, and the Gryphons. She had been afraid of the huge birdlike things at first, but then she had met their youngsters, Jerven and Lytha, and they had completely won her over. {I'm a sucker for cute little balls of fur.} She thought wryly. She let her book fall into her lap, and she leaned back against the tree.  
  
For reasons completely unknown to her, she was going to be put in classes with the Herald trainees. It didn't make much sense to her, but she went along with it. She looked up at the impossibly blue sky, and closed her eyes, taking it in.  
  
Suddenly she Felt someone near her, and she opened her eyes suddenly to see a young man standing in front of her, about her age, wearing Blues.  
  
"I'm sorry." He said when he saw her start. "I didn't mean to scare you." He was fairly tall, with curly brown hair and gray eyes, and a crooked smile. Devina thought she saw a resemblance to Talia, but she couldn't be sure. "What's your name?" He asked, sitting down next to her.  
  
"Devina." She said with a smile. A look of recognition dawned on his face.  
  
"So you're the protege that my mother keeps talking about." He said, smiling.  
  
Devina blushed. "Yes, I suppose I am." She said. She cocked her head to the side. "You're Jemmie, aren't you?"  
  
He glanced up at the sky, sticking his tongue against his teeth and smiling. "Yep, I suppose that would be me." He looked sidelong at her, his face going thoughtful. "Mother didn't tell me you were pretty."  
  
Devina blushed hotly. "So...um, what are you doing here?"  
  
He smiled. "You'll think I'm foolish." he said, looking down at the grass.  
  
"No I won't." she said, half-smiling. He looked up into her eyes for a moment, and Devina's breath caught in her throat. His eyes were so pretty...  
  
"Well," he said, breaking her out of her silent reverie. He didn't seem to notice her behavior, as he looked up at the sky. "I come out here because I can't help hoping that if I come here enough, I'll get Chosen sooner."  
  
"You haven't been Chosen yet?" she asked, frowning slightly.  
  
He looked down, lacing his fingers together in front of his knees. "No."  
  
"Well I haven't been Chosen, and I've been through hell and back." Devina said, half jokingly. He looked up at her, and looked into her eyes, and Devina completely forgot what she was going to say. "Uh,...hmm...I knew exactly what I was going to say a minute ago..." she said, trying not to look at his eyes, which was fairly hard to do. {Gods, what is the matter with me today?} "And it was all uplifting and deep."  
  
"That's all right." He said. He looked down and gradually what she was going to say came back to her.  
  
"You know, a lot of people are Chosen when they experience something life altering, or if they go through some terrible experience." She grinned wryly. "Of course that doesn't seem to apply to me, but that's besides the point. If you're a really good person and you have MindGifts- which I'm guessing you do -you'll get Chosen."  
  
"Really?" he said.  
  
"Really."  
  
"You know," Jemmie said thoughtfully after a few minutes of silence. "You sounded just like my mother."  
  
"I did not!" Devina said, grinning. She shoved him lightly.  
  
"Yes you did!" he shoved her back. "You even did the 'You're a good person' bit."  
  
"Ooh, I'm going to get you for that one!" she said, and shoved him so he fell over. He grabbed her arm as he went down, pulling her with him.  
  
"Ow, that's my hair-"  
  
"Hey, hey, no biting, no biting!"  
  
"Do fingernails count?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Hah, I've got you now!"  
  
Finally Devina ended up sitting on him.  
  
"Oh, come on, got off!" he said, trying to make her budge. She just sat harder, if that was even possible.  
  
"Nope." She said. "Not until you say you're sorry!"  
  
"Fine, fine. I'm sorry I said you sounded like my mother." She smiled and got up, allowing him to help himself up.  
  
"You're cruel, do you know that?" he said, brushing the dirt off his uniform.  
  
"Why thank you!" Devina said with a smile. She glanced up at the sky again. "well I'm completely filthy now, no thanks to you. _I_ am going to go take a bath." She started walking toward the Collegium. "Bye Jemmie!"  
  
"Good luck, Devina. Don't forget to wash behind your ears!" he called after her.  
  
{What a jokester.} Devina thought, shaking her head as she walked toward the Collegium and a warm bath. {But there's just something about him...}  
  
))^^((#%#))^^((  
  
"Mother? Are you here?" Jemmie said as he walked into the set of rooms he shared with his parents.  
  
"In here, dear." She called from her room. The door was open, so he walked in. Talia was dressed in her Whites, and she was putting her hair up into a horsetail. He smiled at the growing number of gray strands in her hair. {It just makes her prettier.} he thought to himself.  
  
"Where have you been all day she asked?" looking him up and down with a keen eye. He hadn't gotten cleaned up before coming here, so he still had muck and stains on his Blues, and sticks and pine needles in his hair.  
  
"I, uh, met Devina." He said jauntily.  
  
"Uh huh..." she said, giving him the you-better-not-have-been doing-what-I- think-you-were-doing Look.  
  
"We had a very interesting conversation." He said as nonchalantly as he could. He watched the Look deepen, and he tried not to laugh. He loved bugging her like this.  
  
"Really?" she said.  
  
"Yeah. I'm really sore. I'm going to go take a bath." He bit his lip to stop smiling, as he laid down the final card. "She bites."  
  
"What the _hell_ were you two doing?!" Talia said. She was now wearing the I-_knew_-you-were-doing-what-I-thought-you-were-doing Look. Jemmie burst out laughing.  
  
"Gods mom, you should see your face!" he said between fits of laughter.  
  
"You little...!" Talia said. She tried to think of something to yell at him, but ended up dissolving into laughter too.  
  
"Really," Talia said as she regained her composure. "What were you two doing?"  
  
"Exactly what I said." Jemmie said, smiling. 'We had a conversation, I said she sounded like you, then we had a little tussle, she sat on me, and I apologized."  
  
"Well, that explains the dirt." Talia said. She walked into the common room shared by Jemmie and his parents. She sat on a couch, and Jemmie sat next to her. "So what do you think of Devina?" Talia asked.  
  
"She's nice. It sounds like she's been through some bad things, and not just the fire, but I like her. She's mysterious, too, and I like that." he said, playing with his fingers.  
  
"She's mysterious because she doesn't share things much with anyone. She's been hurt a lot, and she's afraid of getting hurt again." Talia said.  
  
"I wouldn't let anyone hurt her." He said, looking his mother squarely in the eyes.  
  
"I know dear, just be careful." She said. "Devina needs some friends right now, but she doesn't know that yet."  
  
"Well," Jemmie said, standing up, "I really do need a bath. See you at dinner." He said, giving his mother a peck on the cheek.  
  
After he had left Talia sighed. From the minute he had walked in the door, Talia had sensed he had fallen in love, and it didn't make her happy that the object of his affections was Devina. {He's in for so much hurt.} she thought sadly to herself.  
  
~~~~~  
  
In case you're wondering, I gave Jemmie some of my nuances. So he's kinda like a version of me.  
  
*Audience gasps in horror*  
  
Grrrr...  
  
*Nori wanders in. looks at story.*  
  
Nori: *Sigh* You're acting psychotic again, aren't you?  
  
Shut up! I own you! And aren't you supposed to be passed out somewhere? That somewhere not being here.  
  
Nori: Oh yeah...*Wanders out*  
  
All right. Now what was I saying?  
  
Ah, whatever. I think we all know what time it is, right guys?  
  
Nori, Rhone, Link: Right!  
  
SHUT UP!  
  
Nori, Rhone and Link: *Very quietly* Right.  
  
Grrrrr.  
  
__Reader Review Response Time!__  
  
Audience: Yay!  
  
.  
  
RonethDragon Tiamat: Yes, Wingblade and Devina should meet. Good thing that's arranged!  
  
Herald Mistylenna: Her second strongest Gift is Empathy. All her other Gifts are much lower.  
  
Trina Ti: Thank you for the suggestion. I will take it into consideration.  
  
Saviate Incarnate Alternate(Or something): O.o ...............Kris is dead. Who are you talking about? And I know I haven't saved/killed Aragorn. To quote Bart Simpson, "I'll do it tommorow!"  
  
Alpiyn: Does this chapter answer your...comment?  
  
SIthelfJEn: Why thank you!  
  
LeopardDance: Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking of that myself. Will you forgive me if I give her a cat?  
  
Oh, and I was thinking of maybe putting song lyrics into this story, especially this one chapter that I'm not going to tell you about. Please let me know if anyone has any strong objections to this.  
  
Review!  
  
Review my other stuff too, while you're at it!  
  
Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 


	7. Chapter 6

I want to take this time to inform you all that me'n RonethDragon Tiamat have decided that it's too hard to collaborate on a story, and the writer of this story will remain me and my muses. Who are infinitely pleased at not having to share the limelight.

Oh, that reminds me. None of you all have met my muses. Well I'll give each of them a little time, and hopefully they won't take too long-

Nori: Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm a crazy elf. Most people would know me from ElvenRanger's story, "The Adventures of Rhone and Nori." Basically, I was her character before she realized I was her muse. I'm Rhone's best friend. All right Rhone, it's your turn.

Rhone: Thanks, psycho. I'm another one of ElvenRanger's character turned muses. I'm usually the calmest one. The others are a little crazy.

Wingstar: Hi, I'm the newest one. I'm the craziest one. I usually am the source of violence, domestic or otherwise. Anything violent, raunchy or disreputable, and I'm there baby! If you couldn't guess, I'm a dragon. My scales are blue, green, and violet.

Well, that's my muses. Hopefully this won't end up to be a bad idea to let them have the spotlight, but I'll take the risk.

I hope you all like this chapter. It took forever to write this chapter. Me'n Roneth did try to get this chapter written together. It's just that neither of us knew the other's character enough to write the chapter. 

So, here's the story.

Disclaimer: Valdemar belongs to Misty Lackey. I'm just borrowing.

"Blah" – Speech

:Blah: – Mindspeech 

thoughts-Italics

~~~~~

Devina walked to the Orientation class, most of her better judgement screaming at her to just go back to her room, and the rest of it encouraging her to get on with it. She stopped outside the door of the room, letting go of the bit of uniform she had been nervously wringing. She ran a hand over her hair for the 20th time, and the stared at the door, thoughts racing through her head at top speed.

__

What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a fake? What if I accidentally set some one on fire? I can't do this… all these people my age… Then her chest constricted and she swallowed hard. _What if they find out what I was? What I am?_

Her flood of thoughts were cut short when the door opened suddenly. "Devina?" Dirk said, holding the door open for her.

"What are you doing here?" Devina said, frowning.

"I teach the Orientation class." Dirk said. "I thought I told you."

Devina blushed. "You did. I forgot." She looked up at him, suddenly solicitous and deeply caring. "How are you?" 

"Fine." He said. "Now get in here."

Devina sighed, her attempt at stalling failed, and walked into the class. There were two girls and two boys in the class. One of the girls was heavily built and well muscled, and seemed very intimidating to Devina. A boy sitting near the front with touseled brown hair and brown eyes was staring in a sort of stupor at his desk, looking mostly asleep. The other two were sitting in seats next to each other, and the strong resemblance between them led Devina to believe they were siblings.

"Class, I would like you to meet your new yearmate, Devina." Dirk said. Devina noted that he said nothing about her being or not being a Herald-trainee. "Devina, let me introduce you to the class." He pointed to the intimidating girl. "That's Lisha. The two sitting next to each other are Luthur and his sister Fairi. And the young man who has so obviously fallen asleep…" he walked forward and tapped the brown-haired boy on his head, who jerked awake, banged his elbow on his desk, and cursed silently. "…is Jake." He looked around the classroom as if looking for someone. "Where's Cy?" he asked.

Just then the door crashed open and a small girl with mousy brown hair tied back with a thong and large tawny eyes bounded in, a roll held in her hand. She stopped in front of Dirk and saluted insolently. "Cythera Srake, reporting for Orientation class, sir!"

Dirk tried to look stern, but a smile lingered around his lips. "Stop that nonsense, Cy. Have you been raiding the kitchens again?"

Cythera pretended to be offended. "Me?! Raid the kitchens!? I never!?" she said, then promptly at a bite of her roll.

Dirk rolled his eyes. "Devina, I would like you to meet Cythera, our resident hooligan."

Cy grabbed Devina's hand and shook it briskly. "Call me Cy." She said. Then she bounced into a seat in the front, and smiled up at Dirk.

"Cy, since you're feeling so enthusiastic," said Dirk. "How would you like to show Devina around?"

Cy smiled broadly. "Really? You haven't let me since the last time!" Jake hunched low in his seat and shuddered. Cy giggled.

Dirk sighed. "Yes, well, I'm hoping we can do a little better this time." He turned to Devina. "Devina, if you could sit in the seat next to Cy?"

Devina walked to her seat and sat down. Cy smiled at her and giggled.

"Now," said Dirk. "Where were we?"

"We left off discussing property laws," said Jake. The others groaned.

"Come on now," said Dirk. "When you're all Heralds, how will you solve a property dispute when you don't even know the laws that govern them?" Dirk moved around his desk to get a better view of his students, and Devina saw that his whites were perilously close to the timekeeper candle.

"Herald Dirk!" she called, and without thinking, called the fire to her. The flame flew into her hand, and for a second, she had the brief impression that it wanted to know what she wanted. _Silly,_ she chided herself. _The fire can't think._ He glanced at her, then glanced at the candle, then looked back at her questioningly. "Your Whites were in danger of turning black." Devina said. She looked at the flame in her palm, which had warmed her hand appreciatively. "Can I put it back?"

"Just a minute." Dirk said, and moved out of the way. The corners of Devina's mouth twitched as she sent the flame back to the candle.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Dirk. "We haven't told each other what gifts we have. It's always helpful to know the capabilities of your allies. I have fetching and some Mindspeech." He nodded to Lisha.

"I have Animal Mindspeech and Farsight." She said.

"My strongest gift is mindspeech," said Fairi. "But I also have some Foresight and Farsight."

"I have the mage gift and mindspeech, and a little empathy." Said her brother.

"I have thought-sensing and animal mindspeech." Jake said.

"I," said Cy. "Have a very strong Foresight gift, and some mindspeech."

Devina took a deep breath. "I'm a firestarter and an empath. I also have mindspeech and a mage gift that's so minor I might as well not have it at all."

Cy's large eyes got bigger, giving her a strong resemblance to an owl. "You can set things on fire?!"

"Cy, enough with the pyro thing." Dirk said, rolling his eyes. "Cy is a known pyromaniac," Dirk explained. "The collegiums are immensely grateful she doesn't have a firestarting gift."

Just then the bell rang.

"Well," said Dirk. "Time just flies when you're having fun, huh? See you tomorrow." He said, as the trainees left. 

Cythera waited for Devina outside the classroom. "What do you have next?" She asked.

"Weapons training." Devina said grimly. 

Cy frowned. "That's odd…" she said.

"What?" Devina asked.

Cy shook her head and smiled at Devina. "Nothing. Let's go."

They walked out the doors of the collegium, neither one talking very much. She sneaked a glance at Cy and saw that although Cy looked young, she was actually about Devina's age, maybe a little older.

"I wanted to take a detour through Companions Field, but Nivan told me I shouldn't." Cy said. "My Companion." She added when Devina looked at her questioningly. "What's your Companion's name?" Cy asked.

"Um…" Devina said. _I knew it would come to this!_ She thought. She took a deep breath, then said it all in a rush. "Idon'thaveaCompanion."

"What? Why?" Cy said, frowning in puzzlement. Then a look of dawning comprehension flooded onto her face. "Oh, I see!" she said, grinning. "You must have done something with that Firestarting gift of yours, and the Heralds are saying you've been Chosen so the Guard can't prosecute you. And who wouldn't keep a firestarter such as yourself alive!"

Devina looked down, feeling hurt that Cy had put it so lightly. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Cy said, a small smile on her lips. "Whatever you did, just know that it happens. It's just when you have Mind gifts, those things that happen can be pretty dangerous." 

"Definitely." Devina said.

"Oh, we're here!" Cy said. Devina looked ahead to see a wooden building that rather resembled an overlarge shed. Windows, wider than they were long, lined the high part of the wall. 

"What's that?" asked Devina, mystefied.

"The salle." Cy said simply, and walked into the building.

"What's a salle?" Devina muttered, then sighed and walked into the building. It soon became obvious to her what it was when she looked around. It was a weapons training room. Practice weapons lined the far wall, and on the two side walls were mirrors. Those walls were also lined with benches.

Cy had walked straight across the room to a door on the far side. She knocked on the door. "Herald Kerowyn?" she said. The door opened and a well muscled blond woman stepped out of the door, wearing clothes that were obviously not Heraldic Whites. Devina blanched. _Havens, is _she_ going to train me?_ Devina thought with a certain amount of fear. There was no one who hadn't heard of the unorthodox Herald-Captain Kerowyn.

Herald Kerowyn glanced at Cy, then looked past her to Devina. "You're Devina, aren't you?" she asked, folding her arms.

Before Devina could speak, Cy was already talking. "She said that she had weapons training now, and I thought that was odd, because I know that this is usually your break time, so I thought I should come with and-"

"Enough Cy!" Herald Kerowyn said, holding her hands up. "She's supposed to be here. Thank you for your concern, but aren't you late for your Equation class?" Cy put a hand on her mouth and bolted out of the salle. "SeeyoulaterDevina!" she shouted in a rush as she left.

Herald Kerowyn shook her head and smiled wryly. "She a good girl, and a damn good fighter, but sometimes she gets a little too focused. Her parents are bodyguards for a prosperous merchant in town. They trained her in weapons since she could hold so she could protect the merchant's youngest daughter. You can see how that plan turned out." Herald Kerowyn chuckled. Then she turned her attentions to Devina, and looked the girl over. 

"Do you have any experience in weapons?" Herald Kerowyn asked.

"At the- Where I lived before, I got some experience using a staff." A sudden memory intruded on her thoughts. _Kelsie, one of the younger girls, cringed in the corner of the room sobbing as Devina rained blows on a man who had nearly killed her. Her face was puffed and bruised, and her nose bled freely. The man cried out every time the staff fell. "If you want to hurt people, go down the street." Devina said. "But not here!"_

"Devina?" Devina snapped back to the present to see Herald Kerowyn looking at her, her forehead creased slightly. Slowly Devina unclenched her left hand that she hadn't realized she'd closed. It stung, and when she looked at her hand, she saw that her finger nails had bit through her skin, leaving red crescent marks that had begun to bleed. Herald Kerowyn looked down at Devina's hand. "Come into my office." She said brusquely, and opened the door for Devina. 

Kerowyn's office was simple, with wood furnishings and an old, threadbare carpet on the floor. Devina sat in the chair in front of the desk, counting on her uninjured hand in a thumb to finger gesture she always found calming. There was a second door off of this room, and Herald Kerowyn rummaged around in there for a moment. Devina caught a glimpse of a bed, messy and unmade, before the Herald came back and closed the door. She pulled a second chair next to Devina's, gauze and ointment in one hand. 

"Let me see that hand." The older woman ordered. Devina hesitated, closing her hand slightly. Kerowyn sighed. "Youngling, if those scratches don't get treated, for one they'll probably get infected, and for another, we won't get any work done if your hand's injured." Devina thought for a second, then gave the Herald Captain her hand.

"Now," said Kerowyn as she began cleaning Devina's hand, her movement's surprisingly gentle. "Elspeth's explained your case to me, and I suggested you have private training."

"Why?" Devina asked.

"A few reasons actually," Kerowyn said. She opened a small jar and put some salve on her fingers. Devina's nostrils flared at the strong smell. Kerowyn started slathering the stuff on Devina's hand, and the girl relaxed as the cool salve eased the sting. "One reason is that I have much more experience than most with magic, and the least skittish of the trainers. Alberich is a great Weaponsmaster, but he's still not especially comfortable around 'real' magic. And Jeri is good too, but Elspeth doesn't know her as well as she knows me. She wants the keep you as mysterious as possible. Second of all, me'n Elspeth figured you might not be as comfortable with boys your age." Devina blushed and ducked her head, but Kerowyn did not say anything about it, wrapping Devina's hand in thin gauze. 

"There, try that." The Herald Captain said. Devina flexed her hand experimentally, and found that not only was the stinging pain gone, but her hand was fairly unencumbered by the bandage.

"That's great, thanks." Devina said appreciatively.

"No problem." Kerowyn said. She put away her supplies then sat in the chair behind the desk. 

"What hand do you write with, and hold a fork with?" she asked.

Devina held up her bandaged hand. 

"Ah, a lefty," Kerowyn said, nodding. "Are there any particular weapons you'd like to learn how to use?"

"No swords," Devina said immediately. "Daggers, maybe. Definitely bow and arrow. And maybe I could improve my staff fighting?"

"Why not swords?" Kerowyn asked.

"Because…" Devina searched for an answer. "Because a sword can only kill. And unless I have to kill someone, I'd rather not." She looked down. "And because…because I need no weapon to kill."

Kerowyn nodded approvingly. "Well then," she said, standing and walking to the door that led to the training room. "Shall we get to work?" 

))^^((#%#))^^((

The tall man walked quickly through the streets of Haven, trying not to gag at the simpletons around him. He kept his hatred and contempt for the Valdemareans behind a kind and pleasant mask. His slight gift in empathy made sure that none suspected his true nature. He could feel these people's "good intentions" sapping at his thoughts, trying to break his concentration on the task at hand. He wished that he could be back in his homeland, where he didn't have to hide under lies and secrecy. He could still be himself here of course, but his mission would have been compromised, and he would have returned in disgrace. He would rather die than that. Plus there were those annoying moving targets the Valdemareans called Heralds. The man simply wanted to get his assignment over with and leave this sappy little country.

He was dressed tastefully, the fine cloth yet slightly out-of-date style hinting to slight wealth. His face was completely unmemorable; in fact, the only thing truly remarkable was his height. But his height was one thing the man had no control over.

His name was Torment, a name given to him by the Priest of Names during the naming ceremony, where he had been bled of almost all of his blood by the vampiric priest, so the blood of his new name could fill him. 

Torment resisted the urge to rub the spot where the Priest's blade had cut him. It always itched in cold weather. And to Torment, who came from the deep south, it was _cold_. But Torment knew that he would look odd piled up in layers of furs.

__

:Warm weather?: he thought contemptuously as he eavesdropped on a conversation. _:These people are crazy. It's only about 50 degrees outside.: _ He grimaced mentally and kept walking.

He was here for a purpose. He was here to torment.

He was here to kill a Herald.

~~~~~

Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuu-*breath*-uuuuuuuuuuuun.

I'm not telling, I'm not telling, I'm not telling.

At least not until the next chapter is done, and that actually will be soon.

****

Review Response

cat: Here's more!

Alpiyn: They didn't put her in Blues because otherwise the Guard would have arrested and prosecuted her for murdering people, firestarter or not. If everyone thinks she's a Herald Trainee, they won't try to convict her. Remember, they have the example of Lavan Firestorm to think about.

LeopardDance: No more cat abuse, I promise. And I will give her a cat. I promise that, too.

Herald Mistylenna: She tries!

SithelfJEn: oookay…Sure, whatever.

RonethDragon Tiamat: He isn't Chosen for a good reason, and you know it. He'll get Chosen, I assure you.

Kattiko: Ookay. Whatever you say.

NoComment: Um, I'm not telling, I don't know, they seem awfully confining, and cause. I hope that answers your questions.

Dream Keeper: I really hope you weren't actually baffled. I really do.

Artemis-Chan: Good luck with that juvenile delinquency thing.

Kyalia: Hopefully earplugs will not be necessary. And there will be more of Devina's past later.

Emerald: Don't worry, I won't make you wait _too_ much longer.

The Shadow Lover: I swear, some people just don't pay attention. But I'm glad my story caught yours.

Wow, a lot of people reviewed! Thank you! Thank you! I couldn't have done it without you! Well, actually…

Review!


	8. Chapter 7

Sorry this took so long to put up.  I have been having a hell of a time getting near a computer, and then when I was, I either had writers block or I was too tired to write.  But finals and all that crap are over, so I can get back to my writing.  Also, my family got a new computer, which I'm still trying to get the hang of.

Anyway, I hope I don't get injured or flamed too much for this chapter.  It was necessary.  Just like JK Rowling killing off you-know-who in the fifth book.  So sad.  Anyway…Oops, I said that twice in a row.  That's pretty bad for me.  Amusing.  For once I have actually found stuff to talk about in my A/N's.  Cool.

Disclaimer:  The illustrious Mercedes Lackey invented Valdemar, and I wish I could make as much money as her. 

"Blah"-Speech

:_Blah_:-Mindspeech

Thoughts are in Italics

~~~~~

If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one

Drying in the colour of the evening sun

Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away

But something in our minds will always stay

Perhaps this final act was meant

To clinch a lifetime's argument

That nothing comes from violence

and nothing ever could

For all those born beneath an angry star

Lest we forget how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall

Like tears from a star

Like tears from a star

On and on the rain will say

How fragile we are

How fragile we are

                                    --"Fragile" Sting

Talia walked the mazelike halls of the old palace, following the knot of pain, self-doubt, and despair.  She had first felt it on her way back from a Council meeting.  She had Sent Rolan to let Dirk know where she had gone, and went in search of the source of the emotions.  _Though probably, she thought, __it's some love-sick teenager who got turned down.  She didn't know this part of the castle much, but she was confident that Rolan could lead her back out._

A few more turns, and Talia was in a part of the castle she had never been in before.  No one had ever mapped the Palace.  No one had tried.  Due of the constant state of building in the castle,  The Palace complex was a twisting maze.  It reminded Talia of the story she had read as a child about the widow who constantly built her house to confuse the spirit of her late husband, so that he would never leave her.

The molding was cracked and peeling, the gold gilt tarnished.  The walls were pitted and cracked with age.  _I really must talk with Selenay about possibly refurbishing the old Palace to accommodate more guests, she thought._

She jumped suddenly when a rat ran in front of her.  She grimaced slightly.  _Why would anyone come here? She wondered._

Finally she stopped at the door where she felt the empathic emotions emanating from.  She paused for a moment to compose herself, then opened the door.  The room was fairly small, and obviously had once been a bedroom.  The bed frame was still there, thought there was no mattress, and a bookcase stood in one corner, collecting dust.

Behind the bed sat a young man, about 17, his hair disheveled.  His shoulders shook with sobs as he cried onto his knees.

Talia approached the boy, trying to walk calmly and quietly.

"Go away!" the boy said petulantly, his voice muffled by his legs.

"It's all right, I'm here to help you." Talia said, walking around the bedframe.  She knelt down beside the teen.  "What's wrong?" she asked, reaching out to stroke the boy's hair.  "Are you all right?"

Suddenly, before Talia could react, the boy grabbed her arm, then drew a blade stained blackish-green across her arm, making a shallow cut.  Talia stood back in surprise, putting a hand on the cut, which had begun to bleed sluggishly.

"I'm fine," the boy said as he stood, his form shimmering away to reveal a tall man with black hair and black eyes.  "But you're not."

"What…" Talia started to say, but faltered and fell against the bookcase, sliding slowly down to the floor.

"What did I do to you?"  the man said.  "I cut you with a blade that was dipped in a poison there is no cure for.  You're dizzy now aren't you?  You feel hot and cold at once.  Soon the pain will come, and then the hallucinations."

Talia could feel Rolan trying to reach her, and she shunted to him everything she could about this strange man, along with all the love she had for him, then sent Dirk, her beloved, her only, all the love she had in her heart for him as well.  She tried to form another word with foaming lips, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"How?" he asked, as he casually cleaned his fingernails with the poisoned blade.  "How did I trick you?  Simple.  I too, have the Gift of empathy, as does every other person in my homeland.  I merely Projected false emotions, and you walked right into my trap."  He crouched down, looking intently at her face, watching the face contort with pain.  "It's interesting that although you have an immensely strong empathic gift, you know little offensive techniques.  All the better for me then."

He watched as fear appeared in the empath's eyes, and she balked into the corner, whimpering with fear.  Talia could feel her mind slipping away as the walls seemed to ooze and drip, and tried to hold onto her shields as long as she could, knowing her emotions unshielded might wreak serious havoc on the city.  _I just wish I knew who this man was!_

"Good." the man said.  "The hallucinations are right on time.  It won't be long now."  He caught her last stray thought and smiled.

"Who am I?"  he asked.

"I'm your murderer."

))^^((#%#))^^((

It was now two weeks since Devina had started at the Collegium, and she anticipated the next week eagerly.  She had found out that she had to take some mathematics last week, and had been quite pleased.  When she'd gone to school as a child, mathematics had been her best class.

Her favorite class though, by far, was Weapons training.  It was hard, and she often went back to her room bruised and battered, but she loved every minute of it.  Kerowyn often commented that Devina seemed to have an uncharacteristically happy nature.

So far, Cy was the only one Devina had told or had guessed her secret.  The teachers gave the excuse that she and he Companion had a very tenuous bond, and needed private Equation training.  Devina of course, did not have a Companion, but instead got more training in her empathy from Talia.

Today was a rest day, and Devina Cy, and Jemmie were taking full advantage of it, deciding to have a picnic in Companion's Field.

Devina smiled as she listened to her friend's banter.  Cy and Jemmie had hit it off right away when Devina had introduced them, and now the three were nearly inseparable.  

Just then, on the edge of her Empathic range, she Felt something.  She Reached, and found a little knot of negative emotions.  She was about to reach out to the person, when she Felt Talia's prescence near the person.  She pulled back and sighed.  She was hoping she might help someone soon.

Cy glanced at her at her sigh.  "Why the long face?"  she asked.

            "Oh…nothing." Devina said, and smiled.  She took a sip of her fruit juice.

Cy giggled with no apparent reason, as usual, and picked up her glass.  Suddenly her eyes went blank and unfocused, and the glass fell from her hands, the juice spilling onto the blanket they had been sitting on, staining the blanket red.

"Time for the show."  Cy whispered, then her eyes rolled up into her head, and her eyelids closed.  Devina reached out and caught Cy's hand, and Cy gripped it tightly, her fingernails leaving impressions in Devina's skin.

"What's wrong?" Jemmie asked in alarm.

"It's her Farsight."  Devina said, teeth clenched from the pain in her hand.  The day after Devina had met Cy, she had had a vision of an injured Herald.  An hour later, a trainee fell of his Companion and broke his collarbone.  Cy's visions always showed something that would happen within an hour, sometimes even something happening at that precise moment.

"It's…Herald Talia, in the Old Palace," Cy said, her brows knit with concentration.  "A boy.  He's crying.  Talia's walking toward the boy, she's reaching out…the knife, can't she see it?…Oh no… she's bleeding.  She fell… oh gods, that man, he hurt her.  She-she's twitching and…"  tears were falling down Cy's face.  Then her eyes snapped open, and her grip on Devina's hand lessened.  She stood, and Nivan trampled out of the trees, followed by…Rolan?

Nivan immediately went to Cy, who threw her arms around her Companion, burying her face in his mane. :_Nivan__!  I couldn't tell when it will happen!:_

:_Rolan__ says it's happening right now.:  Nivan said gently to her._

:_No__!: Cy said, pulling away and looking her Companion in the eyes.  :__I__ have to help her!:_

:_Cy__, you can't.:  Nivan said, :_The one who is killing her is much to powerful for you.  And you'll all have other things to worry about when her shields break.:__

"Oh gods," Cy whispered.

Meanwhile, Rolan had run up to Devina.  He seemed distraught and disoriented and snorted and pranced.  Devina Projected calm onto the Companion, and he stopped, his sides shaking, eyes rolling wildly.  Timidly, Devina reached out, and touched the horse lightly.  Immediately a huge amount of information was shoved into her head, and her vision was filled with black sparkles, then her sight cleared, and she suddenly knew everything.  

Talia was dying. There was nothing she could do.  She was in the old palace, and Devina knew the exact location.  She could catch the killer. But then she felt an inexorable pull, calling her into the heart of Companion's Field, and she knew that she had to go.

She started running, disregarding the others and everything else.  It was as if she was detached from the world, and from herself as well.  She tripped and started to fall, but strong hands pulled her up.  She turned her head and saw Jemmie, running as well, a distant look in his eyes.  They ran together, time not seeming to matter.  Then they were at the Grove, the heart of Companion's Field.  And it was then that Talia's shields collapsed.

))^^((#%#))^^((

Dirk had just sat down on the couch in the quarters he and Talia shared with Jemmie when he Felt a sudden pain in his chest. He put a hand on his chest, his face contorting in pain.  Then he Felt a sudden rush of love, the likes of which he had never felt, since, since…

"Talia!" he said through his pain, both physical and emotional.  He knew in his heart of hearts that she was dying, but his mind didn't want to accept that Talia, his lifebonded, his greatest love, was dying, and he could do nothing.  

"Talia!" he cried out again, then fell to the floor on his hands and knees as the wave of emotions caused by Talia's collapsing shields hit him.  He Reached out to Ahrhodie, and found that she was just as upset as he was.  He Sent waves of calm toward his Companion, and as his heart slowly cracked, he waited for the end to come.  

))^^((#%#))^^((

The wave of emotion hit everyone in the Palace complex.  Heralds all over Haven dropped where they stood, immobilized by the force of the pain, fear, and sorrow.  And others with no Gifts fared no better.  Court ladies fainted,  the strongest men leaned against the stones of the Palace for support.  No one was spared.

For Devina, it was like she was drowning.  When it hit her, she fell to knees instantly, her palms pressed against her temples.  Her shields, still not yet fully steady, broke on impact, and she could suddenly feel everyone, everything, all at once.  She couldn't find herself in the maelstrom of emotions and thoughts.  She felt Talia's pain anew through others, and so felt it twice as badly.  Everyone was hurt, everyone was in pain, everyone was suffering, and she just… she just wanted it to stop.  Needed it to stop. She could feel the fire starting to burn, starting to rise to the surface, and she struggled to keep it within her, to keep _herself.  __No!  I can't let it happen again!  But she was losing it, losing everything, she couldn't hold on-_

_:Yes__ you can.:  Said a voice.  Suddenly it was only Devina again, and she raised herself shakily.  Bright light caught her eye, and she looked up, but quickly turned away, for the light coming from the grove was a blinding white.  She kept her eyes shut until she saw the light against her eyelids lessen, then she opened them.  She could see a shining white figure walking towards her.  With every step the glowing entity solidified until a silvery Companion stood before her.  The stallion was huge; the only Companion she had seen that size had… been…Rolan. _

Devina's chin wavered, and she looked down at the grass.  "No, not me!"  she cried as she avoided the Companion's eyes.  "You can't want me!  I can't!  It's too much!  Please!"  A huge sob choked her throat.  _:I_ can't be Queen's Own.:_  she whispered mentally._

_:Yes__, you can.:  The voice said again, his voice gentle, but laced with steely tones.  Devina looked up in surprise, and then found herself drowning again, this time in a deep sea of sapphire.  But this time she remained herself, and she had no fear.  __:My__ name is Taliesin.:  he said.  __:And__ I Choose you.:  _

))^^((#%#))^^((

Jemmie was not having any better a time of it.  He could feel his own mother dying in agony.  He stood as if frozen, tears coursing down his cheeks, his lip bleeding where he had bitten through it.  _My mother is dying_, he thought over and over again.  Then he realized that his father, lifebonded to his mother, would probably die too.  _No!_ he thought, and started to lurch in the direction of the Palace.  _I can't lose them both!  But at the same time, the coldly logical part of his brain whispered _If___ you keep him alive, he will be miserable for the rest of his life.  When your lifebonded dies, it's like a hole inside yourself that threatened every day to swallow you whole.  Keren almost died because of it.  She only lived because she had Sherril.  Dirk has no one else._

A fresh batch of hot salt tears fell down Jemmie's face.  It was selfish, to want your father to live in such misery.  But shouldn't every child be allowed to be a little selfish about their parents?  And he could never get to his mother in time, but his father could be helped.  He wanted to run to his family's quarters, grab his father and tell him, "Live! Live! Live for me."  But if he did save his father, if he kept him here, what would there be for him.  Soon Jemmie would be an adult, and though he would make promises and set dates, chances were that he would forget about his father.  If he let Dirk go, he would go to the Havens.  He would be with Talia, and with their friend Kris they had known so long ago.  He would be happy. 

Jemmie's brain continued to come up with pros and cons, but in his heart he had already made up his mind.  He would be selfless.  He would let his father go to the Havens, instead of cursing him to a lifetime of torment.  He would let his father die.

_:You__ made the merciful choice.:  said a voice behind him.  _:And___ now I must make my own choice.:  Jemmie turned to see a young Companion mare.  He knew this one.  It was one of Ahrhodie and Rolan's children.  Her mane and tail were unusually long, and they looked like spun silver.  Then he looked into her eyes, and as he seemed to fall into them, he saw that they were a sapphire so dark they looked violet.  __:My__ name is Eris,: she said. _:And___ I Choose you.:     _

))^^((#%#))^^((

Devina didn't know how long she fell into Taliesin's sapphire eyes, but all too soon she was back in her own body.

_:Devina__.: Taliesin said.  __:We_ have a job to do.  We have to shield Talia and Rolan.  They are not long for this world, and they could take the entire Palace Complex with them when they die.  Can you do it?:__

:I'll try, but-:

_:I'm__ sorry, heart sister, but there is not time to answer your questions.  I will answer any questions you have after this is over, but for now we have only time to act.:  He tossed his head.  __:You__ were taught how to build shields, were you not?  There is still power left from when I entered this world.  Use it to build a shield around Talia.  I will deal with Rolan.  I'll have to drop the shield I've put around you, but I won't let you go.:_

_:I'm__ not sure I can do it.:  Devina said._

_:Dearest__, you are the only one.:  Taliesin said, sadness and regret tingeing his mindvoice.  _

Devina swallowed.  _:Then__ I'll do the best I can.:  She closed her eyes and forced herself to take deep breaths, putting herself into a trance.  Then she built her shields around herself, beneath the one Taliesin had built.  She built them strong, and built many of them._

_:Are__ you ready?:  Taliesin asked, his voice sounding slightly distant.  Devina Sent her assent, and within a breath the shield Taliesin had built had dropped.  Devina felt only the barest whispers of the thoughts of others, and mentally congratulated herself on her shields.  Then she sobered, and sent her awareness out.  Suddenly she stopped, as if pulled back by a leash.  __The shields are holding me back,  she thought, not without a certain amount of fear.  With trepidation, she lowered her shields until the thoughts around her were a dull roar.  She was able to go farther, but she still couldn't get to where she _knew_ Talia was.  She grimaced inwardly, and dropped her shields altogether.  _

At first she was disoriented by all the thoughts, then she got her bearings and Reached to the place that stuck out in her mind.  As she reached, she felt a Reaction headache begin, but she ignored it and kept going.  Then she finally sensed Talia, and started to surge forward, but stopped short.  

Talia was not alone.  Devina would have missed the man with Talia if she had not been using her Thoughtsensing as well.  This man had no feelings, and his thoughts were disturbing.

:Not much longer…I wonder why she lingers…her death is inevitable…funny, I've never seen one twitch like that…:

Rage flared up inside her, and she could feel the fire inside her uncurl, malcontent in its heart.  Devina quickly threw a shield around Talia as strong as the one Taliesin had set around her.  Then she turned to the man.  She called upon the fire and it answered her willingly, surrounding the man in a sheet of flame.  For a moment she had a sensation that the fire was impatient, and wanted to know why she held it back, then it passed, and she shook it off.

_:Who__ are you?:  She yelled, anger almost obscuring her words._

_:Not__ that it is of any concern to you,:  he said.  __:But__ my name is Torment.  I am one of the Rewytha.:_

_:Why__ did you do this to her?:  she asked.  The man hesitated, and Devina immediately set his hand on fire.  _:Answer___ me or you will lose your hand.:_

_:I__ was paid to assassinate the Queen's Own.:  Torment's voice held little inflection.  She let the fire on his hand die._

:By who?:

_:I__ know not.  They used a middle man.  However, I was to leave a message.  I was to leave it on the Herald's corpse, but I will tell it to you.:  The man sent a twisted smile__.  :The Li'Kathao are coming.  They cannot be stopped.  They will sweep this land and leave only embers and dust.  You have been warned.  The Li'Kathao are coming.:_

It was then that Talia died.  

It was almost as if someone had flipped a switch.  One minute she was there, and the next…she was gone.

Devina couldn't think.  Talia, her teacher, the one who'd helped her so much, was…gone.  The shield she had made collapsed like broken glass around the Herald's still form. The fire around the man sputtered and died.

_She's…dead,_ she thought numbly.  Suddenly a million horrible images were shoved into her head.  She screamed in horror and returned to her own body.  

"No!"  she screamed, tears running down her face.  She turned, and saw Jemmie staring at her.  "She's dead." She said, sorrow contorting her face.  She took a step toward him, then her skull seemed to split open.  Her brain took it for a moment, then it shut down.  Her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed.

In the silence that followed, the Death Bell began to ring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Hides behind computer*  

Please don't hurt me! I had to do it!  I'm sorry, I really didn't want to!

Sigh.

**Reader Response**

cat:  I will, oh faithful reader!

Aristel:  I'm so glad everyone likes Cy!  I hope I didn't keep you in suspense for tooo long…

Herald Mistylenna:  I just really appreciate that people review my stuff.  And I'm sorry I took so long again.  I just couldn't find a place to end the chapter.

LeopardDance:  I think the one will be enough.  And look!  More plot twists!

Fireblade:  I'm glad you're enjoying it!  I am a slight pyro myself.  Fire pretty, tree, uh…

lazy dragon(AKA RonethDragon Tiamat):  Definitely not as long as the last time… I think.  And Cy is cool.  I like ForeSight.

Kalyra Shadowdancer:  That's funny, cause I do too!

Owleyes:  *Blink blink*  ookay Linda…

Tsukinoko: They're uh…special.

Dream Keeper:  Okay, if you didn't get it, never mind.  Just think of the reputations that Heralds have.  In regards to…ahem…intimate relations?

Cerulean Sky:  I'm not telling,  you just found out, I'm not telling.  Does that answer your questions?

Firedance Swiftknife:  I'm glad I have someone on my side.

Oh, and since I'm sure some of you were wondering, this is after the Mage Winds and after the Mage Storms.  Actually, this takes place around the time of the second book in the Owl series.  Owlsight, I believe.

See you next update! (Which will be much sooner than this one was!)


	9. Chapter 8

I know no one liked Talia dying.  I is sorry.  But I hope you all won't hold it against me.

Most of my other fanfictions are done, so hopefully I'll have more updates on "A Flame in the Dark."  But I'm moving more into the fp.net area, so who knows how things will work out.

Disclaimer: The only characters that belong to me are the ones you haven't heard of in Miss Lackey's books.

~~~~~

Elspeth and Darkwind walked through the old palace, Gwena guiding them with the help of the new Queen's Own Companion, Taliesin.  It had only been two hours since the murder, but already so much had changed.  The whole thing felt surreal to Elspeth.  She couldn't help but think that any minute, she would wake up in the bed that she and Darkwind shared, that Talia and Dirk and Rolan and Ahrhodie would still be alive.  But at the same time, she knew that there was no waking up.

            They stopped at the threshold to the door, which had been left slightly open, as if someone had left in a hurry.  Elspeth hesitated for a moment, and Darkwind caught her hand.  "You don't have to go in, _ashke," he said gently._

            "I know, but I…need to," she said.

            He nodded.  Elspeth reached out and pushed the door open.  Elspeth was almost surprised at how little blood there was.  The way Talia had felt before she…died, you'd think that she had been tortured.  But there was no blood.  Barely anything was misplaced.  She took a step forward, but Darkwind held her back, gesturing with a hand to the floor.  She looked down and saw a perfect circle burned into the floor.  She could see why he had held her back; the circle did not look like it could support someone's weight.

            "Devina must have done that,"  Elspeth whispered, speaking as if she were in a church. 

Elspeth spared a moment to hope Devina would be okay.  The girl had seriously overworked her Gifts, and had collapsed.  The healers were fighting to keep her alive_.  Gods, we can't lose two Queen's Owns in one day!_

            She carefully stepped around the burned circle, and Darkwind followed.  Now that she was further into the room, she could see that something was slumped against the side of the empty bookcase, hidden from view until now by a chair.  Elspeth's heart skipped a beat, but she continued resolutely forward until she was standing in front of Talia's corpse.

            Darkwind watched his wife carefully, as he stood an arm length behind her.  She was standing stock still, staring at the body of the woman who had been Elspeth's mentor and most trusted friend.  Talia's face was contorted in pain. Her body was limp, but her fingers were claw-like, made stiff in death.  One of her arms had been cut along the wrist, the blood smeared on it making it look worse than it had been.  For a long time Elspeth only stared, but then she spoke.  

            "She's really dead," she said hollowly.  "When we were walking here, I kept thinking that someone would pop out and tell me it was all a joke, that Talia was fine.  'We even got the Death Bell in on it,' that's what I wanted them to say.  But she's dead.  She's really dead."  

Her shoulders started to shake, and Darkwind could see that her legs were going to give out.  He stepped forward and caught her.  She resisted only slightly, then began sobbing into his shirt.  He merely stroked her hair, murmuring consoling words in Tayledras, which he had fallen into naturally.  

After what seemed like candlemarks,  Elspeth's tears subsided, and she sniffed and pulled away.

"Elspeth, are you all right?"  He asked.

"No," she said truthfully, wiping her red eyes with her hands.  "But we have to find out what it was that killed Talia.  I have a job to do as a Herald-Mage."

"All right.  Shall we get started then?"  he asked.  Elspeth wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffed loudly, then nodded. 

"It looks like the murderer cut her with a poisoned blade.  I just hope he left it behind, or it will be much harder to find out what killed her."

The pair searched the room, starting around Talia's body, then moving on to the rest of the room.  Finally Darkwind shook his head and cursed.  "He must have taken it with him."

Elspeth sighed.  _:Do_ you have any ideas Gwena?:_  She asked, wiping her running nose on her sleeve again. _

_:Not__ really.: Elspeth Felt her Companion conversing with someone else, probably Taliesin.  Her thoughts were confirmed a moment later. _:Taliesin says that the man was a mage.  You might be able to pick up some magical residue.:__

_:Good__ idea.:  She relayed this idea to Darkwind, and they both invoked their mage sight.  The trail was all around the room.  Darkwind followed it out the door.  But a few turns later, it simply disappeared.  That's strange, Darkwind thought as he came back to himself._

"Darkwind, I found it," said Elspeth.  He turned to see her holding a dagger with a blackish green blade.

"Where was it?"  he asked.  

"It was under the bed frame, next to the wall.  It has magical properties." 

"What?"

"See for yourself."  She handed him the blade.

Darkwind invoked his mage-sight and was surprised and worried to see that it glowed with a bloody red color.  He tested the blade with his magic, and immediately recoiled.  The poison was a magical substance.  This was no natural toxin.

"I've never seen this kind of poison before," he said.

"Nor have I," said Elspeth, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"I think we need to call a mage meeting," said Darkwind.

))^^((#%#))^^((

            Elspeth looked around the room.  Along with herself and Darkwind, there was also Treyvan and two mages from Rethwellan, Master Thayerant and Adept Jeffurillson, known by the shorter names Thayer and Jeff.  Hydona was looking after her new little ones, and couldn't be here.  The two Rethwellians still looked shaken from…Talia's death.  The thought caused tears to threaten her eyes.  _Be strong now, fall apart later_, she told herself firmly.  They had met in the gryphon's set of rooms, as none of the other rooms would have been able to fit them all and the gryphon comfortably.

            "Herald Elspeth?"  Asked Thayer, bringing her thoughts to the present.  "Why did you call us here?"

            "We wanted to see if any of you recognized the poison on this blade." Darkwind said, pulling the dagger our of an old leather sheath he had found in the armory.  He handed the poisoned blade to the pair.  

            Elspeth invoked her mage sight and watched them go over it with their magic.  After a few moments they looked up.

            "I have never seen anything like this," declared Jeff.

            "Nor have I." said Thayer.    

            "Let me sssee thisss weapon," said Treyvan.  Jeff picked up the dagger and passed it to the gryphon, who scanned it with his gift.  He hissed suddenly, his crest rising and his pupils dilating.

            "Do you know it?" asked Darkwind.

            "Yesss,"  he said.  "It isss the poissson frrrom _mirrranda thorrrnsss, the sssame poissson that killed the Mage of Sssilence, Urrtho.  But I thought it all had been desstroyed in the Grreat Cataclyssm."_

            "Apparently some of it survived," Elspeth said.

            "Is there an antidote?" Darkwind asked.

            "That isss why _mirrranda__ isss ssso dangerrrousss.  The plant wasss crreated with blood magic by Ma'arrr, and he wasss not one to be kind.  Therrre isss no currre."  He sounded sorrowful when he spoke the last._

            "Star-eyed, I wish everything didn't come back to Ma'ar," said Darkwind.  "We finally killed him, and still he haunts us." (A/N: He's like the energizer bunny!  He keeps going and going…)

            _:Ask__ them about the Li'Kathao.: said Gwena.  _:Taliesin___ said that the man talked about them, whoever they are.:                                                             _

            "Does anyone know anything about the Li'Kathao?  The murderer said spoke of them." Elspeth asked. Treyvan shook his head, as did Jeff.  But Thayer nodded slowly.

            "My family immigrated to Rethwellan from Velvar when I was a child.  I remember my father telling me stories of the people in the far South called the Li'Kathao, the people of war.  They are a warrior people, that live and die by the sword.  They are supposed to be lead by a woman, with black hair reaching down to her knees and fierce blue eyes, who steals the heart of any man who looks upon her.  It is said in Velvar that when magic is lost to the world, the Li'Kathao will rise and rule all countries, reigning with the fist and the sword until the world is only embers and dust."

            "Damn," Elspeth said.

            "According to Taliesin, the man said that they were coming.  And you said they would only rise to rule when magic has left the world,"  said Darkwind, frowning.  "But magic has not left the world.  It has only been spread about evenly since the Cataclysm was averted."

            "Trrrue," said Treyvan.  "But rrrememberrr, we Adeptsss and Masssterrss have not the powerrr we once held.  Forrr a long while, we ssshall be verrry hinderrred in magic.  Perrhapsss they sssee now asss theirrr time to act."

            Elspeth rubbed her eyes wearily.  "Which means we may have a people trying to conquer our allies to the south soon.  A people bred for war."

            "And not only that," said Thayer.  "But it is also said that they have a magic different from ours, and different from the mind-magic."

            Darkwind looked troubled.  "What kind of magic could that be?"  They were all silent for a few moments, then Jeff spoke.

            "You realize, of course, that these are wives tales, told to children of Velvar to scare them off to bed.  I've heard it before.  Be good, or the Li'Kathao will get you. Faugh." He shook his head.

            "They may have been stories, but every story has a basis in truth!"  said Thayer.  "You've lived all your life in the Rethwellan Court.  How would you know what is truth and what is moonshine to people who live on the edges of civilization?"

            "The basis in truth you speak of probably disappeared decades ago!"  Jeff said.             

"The Tayledras were considered a myth until very recently." Darkwind said quietly.  "Why should it be different with these people?"   

"Adept Jeff, may I remind you that this is the only lead we have?"  Elspeth said coldly.  "If you have another explanation, feel free to speak.  Otherwise withhold your criticism."

            "I was only saying…" the Master muttered.

            The meeting was quickly finished up, and the mages went their separate ways.  Treyvan asked if he could hold onto the blade, to study it.  He didn't think the poison was purely the toxin from _miranda thorns._

Elspeth rubbed her face tiredly as they walked back to their room.  "I'd like to just lie down and cry for the next week, but I need to speak with my mother and Kero about this.  The Queen needs to be informed about any possible threat to her country."

            "I will go look in the Library for anything about these Li'Kathao.  Maybe there is some record of their existence," Darkwind stopped, and caught her hand.  "When you are done speaking with your mother and Lady Kerowyn, you can always come get me.  You don't have to be alone in your grief.  I knew her as well."

            For the first time, Elspeth could see the pain in his eyes, and she knew then that Talia's death had been a big blow to him too.  Talia had always been behind their relationship, Talia had been the first one to trust in him on the council, and Talia had been his wife's best friend.

            "I'm so sorry, Darkwind," Elspeth said, giving him a hug, a few tears falling despite her.  "I haven't even thought of what you are going through."

            "_Ashke_, it's all right," he said.  "I understand.  Go speak with your mother."

            Elspeth smiled, albeit a watery one, and kissed him lightly.  "Hopefully it won't take very long."  She kissed him once more, then walked toward her mother's apartments.

            Darkwind walked on to their own apartments, deciding to spend a little time with Vree before he locked himself in the musty library.  It surprised him how much he had taken to reading.  As a scout he hadn't much time for it, and during his time as a mage, both before and after, he had been too busy working magic.  But now that he was little more useful than a Journeyman, he had gained much more time for reading.

            The large window in their room was thrown open to the warm summer air.  Vree was sitting on a perch, sunning himself, but he cocked one eye open at Darkwind's approach.

            _:?:_  the bird inquired. _:Where__ Elspeth?:_

            _:Speaking__ with her mother.:  Darkwind said, coming to the bird's perch and offering his arm.  Vree sidled onto his wrist gently, and Darkwind lifted his hand so the bird could hop onto his shoulder._

            _:Darkwind__ sad?:  Vree asked._

            _:Yes__.:_

            _:Why__?:_

            Darkwind struggled to convey death to the bird.  _:Because__ a person went away.:_

            _:Like__ Dawnfire went away?: asked Vree._

            Darkwind was a little surprised by how easily is bondmate has grasped the concept he had been trying to convey.  _:Yes__.  Like Dawnfire.:_

            Vree nibbled Darkwind's fingers.  _:Vree__ won't go away. Vree stay with Darkwind.:_

            Darkwind smiled sadly. _:I__ know.: _

~~~~~

Okay, that was a slightly depressing chapter, but I felt that I needed to do this stuff before we go back to Devina.  And don't worry.  She's not dead.  Where would my story be without her?

**Reader Response**

Cerulean Sky:  I'm glad you won't hurt me.  And I believe I spoke with you about the Rolan thing.  Hope you are enjoying the story!

RonethDragon Tiamat:  I made it so sad because it is sad.  And I was crying writing it, so yeah.  And thank you for the compliment.

Herald Mistylenna:  Geeze, did I make everyone cry...?

Fireblade:  Hmm… interesting coincidence.  I haven't read that story.  I have yet to get to it.

DARKMEW13: ….You don't believe in periods in your reviews, do you?

kitten:  I hope  I didn't!   It's hard for me to keep track.  I have too many stories.

Stee:  Well, Rolan was actually a fairly new Queen's Own.  The Queen's Own before Talia, Talamir, had another Queen's Own Companion whose name was Taver, but he was killed in the Tedrel Wars.  They really needed Talamir, so they kept him alive until Rolan could get to the front line.  And Rolan didn't Choose Devina because of his unusually strong Bond with Talia.  I hope that clears things up a bit.

WolfChild:  Oh, okay.  Thanks.

LeopardDance:  All right, all right, calm down.  That will be later.  But I promise, I will give her a cat.  And I didn't kill _everyone…_

DreamKeeper:  *Completely blank look* What…?  Taliesin…come..back?? Wha??  E-mail me and 'splain to me; elven_spider@yahoo.com

Song Blade: Because I hadn't updated yet, that's why!

Linda: I think you were in a weird mood, Lindy.

Thank you all for reading my story, and for reviewing it.  Remember, I'll acknowledge you in my review response, even if all you said is, "Great job."

Ciao!


	10. Chapter 9

This is a shorter chapter than usual.  I'm having trouble picking it up again after Talia's death. I'm probably going to end up jumping forward a bit.

Disclaimer:  I don't Own Mercedes Lackey.  See?  It's that simple!

~~~~~

Devina came back to consciousness slowly.  Her head felt like it was going to split open.  She didn't know what was going on.  Her mind was hazy.  She wanted to open her eyes and see what was going on.

            :Don't open your eyes, Devina,: said a comforting familiar voice. :You'll make your reaction headache worse.:

            :Taliesin?: she asked groggily.  :What happened?:

            :You exerted your Gifts a bit too much,: he said.  :You passed out from your reaction headache, and nearly died.:

            :Oh, oh gods…: Devina said, as she remembered what had given her the reaction headache.  :Talia and Rolan are…:

            :Dead,: Taliesin said gently.  :As are Ahrhodie and Dirk.  The shock stopped Dirk's heart, and Ahrhodie went with him.:

            :Four lives!: Devina said. :We lost two heralds and two Companions, one pair the Queen's Own.:  Tears ran down her face despite her closed eyes.  

            :But you saved the rest of the people in the Palace Complex,:  Taliesin said, his words accompanied by comforting feelings.  He did not speak until Devina had mastered herself again.  :Chosen, you had some questions for me, did you not?:  He said.  :I will answer them now the best I can.:

            :Why – why did you Choose me?: she asked.

            :Because you were the best one to succeed Talia,:  he said.  :And not only that, I Chose you because…because…oh, Devina, I can't tell you, because I don't fully understand myself, but know that it had more to do with you than a new Queen's Own.:

            :It's all right,: she said.  :Why did Rolan die?  Why didn't he Choose me?:

            :He didn't Chose you because of the unusually strong bond he shared with Talia.  It was strong enough to take him with her when she died.  Rolan knew it would happen.:

            :How long have I been unconscious?:  she asked.

            :If you count today, about five days.:  he said.

            Devina mulled this over.  :They didn't catch him, did they?:

            :No.:

            Devina was silent for a while.

:They had the funeral already.:  she said, more of a statement than anything else. 

            :Yes,: he said, sending an image of two graves covered in flowers.  :Yesterday.:

            Devina slowly curled into a fetal position, tears squeezing their way out of her closed eyes, and down her cheeks.  She felt Taliesin as a comforting presence in her mind, and clung to him.  After almost a candlemark of crying, she felt herself drifting off to sleep again.

            :Don't worry about anything, Chosen.:  Taliesin said.  :You can deal with things when you feel better.:

            She smiled and fell asleep.

))^^((#%#))^^((

            When Devina drifted back into consciousness, she could hear someone next to her.

            :?: she sent to Taliesin.

            :It's Jemmie,:  he said.  :He and Cy have been visiting you a lot.:

            :Can I open my eyes?:  She asked.

            :Yes.  It's evening.:

            She opened her eyes, and turned her head to look at Jemmie.  His eyes looked sore from crying, and he was a little pale, but otherwise he looked fine.  Strong even.

            He saw her looking at him and smiled.  "Good morning."

            "More like goodnight," she said dryly.

            "How do you feel?"

            "My head still hurts, but otherwise I'm all right,"  she said.  She looked down.  "I'm sorry, about your parents."

            "It's all right,"  Jemmie said, his smile sad.  "They lived a good life.  And I know they loved me."

            It was then that Devina noticed that Jemmie was dressed in the gray uniform of a herald trainee.

            "You were Chosen?" she said, her voice happy.

            "Yes.  Her name is Eris."  He said.  "She was…one of Rolan's and Ahrhodie's foals."  He looked down,  one of his hand clenching tighter unconsciously.

            Devina looked down.  "Gee, I was trying to make you happy, and it didn't work,"  Devina said quietly.

            "I'm sorry," said Jemmie, putting a hand on hers in a very natural gesture.  "It's just I'm still in a little shock about this whole thing.  I mean, my parents dying, and getting Chosen, and you being sick…it's just a lot to absorb."

            "I understand," said Devina.  For a few moments they didn't speak, the silence oddly comforting.  Devina looked up at Jemmie and smiled at him, and he smiled back.  Something in both their stomachs fluttered.  They started to lean toward each other, both of them almost unaware that they were dong so.

            "Devina!" 

            They both jumped and moved away-Jemmie took his hand from Devina's- as Cy bounced into the room and gave Devina a big hug.

            "I was so worried about you!"  said Cy.  She glanced at Jemmie.  "Well, we were worried."

            "Yeah," said Jemmie.  He felt like something should have happened that didn't.  He tried to pinpoint it, then sighed and gave up.  _After all, it couldn't have been that important if I forgot to do it._

~~~~~

Like I said, very short chapter.  

Sigh.  I think the review response will be longer than the chapter.

Cerulean Sky:  Hey, I don't see any problem.  I know a couple that had read the Mage Wars and The owls series.  That was weird.

yourfavoritedragon:  Yes, it was convenient wasn't it?  And look!  I made her awake!

silvervine: Hey, I cried during the first pokemon when Ash got all petrified and stuff.  It was just so sad…And no, I don't know what you mean.

Fireblade: LOL.  That is an interesting thing to ponder, isn't it?

Lady Silver Dragon: No, not Mokuba's puppydog eyes of Dooom! No! Can't…resist…cuteness…aaahh!

kmina03: There's no harm in wondering, but no, that was not my original intent.

Thank you all for reviewing!!

Now review some more!

-ElvenRanger- 


	11. Writer's Block

Hi.  I know I am disappointing you all by telling you that this is not a new chapter of A Flame in the Dark.  I have intense and unmovable writers block on this story.  It's not that I don't know where I want the story to go.  It is in fact the opposite.  I know exactly where I want it to go but I can't figure out how to get there.  I'm sorry, this is one of my favorite stories, and it saddens me that I can't find my muse.

But then, I do have an awful lot of them running around in my head.

Later,

-ER-


	12. Chapter 10

I think I have discovered a paradox.  You see, I have come to believe that writer's block only extists as long as you don't acknowledge that it's there.  As soon as I wrote that little note saying that I have writers block, it went away.  Poof, just like that.  It was kinda scary.

So, here I am, back writing.  And this chapter would have been up a long time ago, but I got kinda lazy, and also school played into it a good deal.  

Oh, and don't expect regular updates.  It all depends on when I can sit down at my computer to write.  Well, I have it all written down in my notebook, but that means I have to transfer it to type, which is slightly annoying.  But I'll do it for you people.  Heaven knows why. 

^_^ 

~~~~~

Devina opened the door to her apartments and closed it with a sigh of relief.  She crossed the room and fell onto her bed, and lay there staring at the ceiling.

            _:Tal__,: she said.  _: I think I should ask to be reassigned.:__

            _:The__ only way you could be reassigned,: he said.  __:Is__ if you died.:_

            _:Details__, details…: Devina grumbled into her pillow.  _

            _:Another__ difficult council meeting?: he asked kindly._

            _:Yes__,: she said.  __:Griffon_ has gotten the Lord Marshall against me.  Father Ricard is coming around, slowly, as well as Lady Cathan.  But most of them are either with me, or they don't trust my age or my gifts or both.:__

            _:Griffon__ is still sore about that?:_

            _:Yes__,: she said, her voice seething.  __:I_ didn't even hurt him, and yet he thinks I can't be trusted.  I'm having trouble sensing the reactions of the other council members, he hates me so much.:_ she shook her head.  __:He's_ a firestarter.  He should understand what it's like.:__

            _:Yes__, Devina, but,:  Taliesin said.  __:He_ can't control it like you can.  He's jealous of that.:__

            _:But__ that's not my fault!:_

            _:I__ know, but some people are just…stupid.:  Devina snorted at his choice of words. Taliesin was silent for a moment.  __:I'll_ talk to his Companion.  Perhaps he can talk some sense into him.:__

            Devina sent a sigh.  _:At__ least the other Heralds act like normal people around __me.:  It was true.  Many of the other Heralds had had similarly bad experiences the first time their Gifts had manifested, and they accepted her for who she was.  Despite his early inhibitions about her, Herald Kyle was one of her good friends.  He had replaced Dirk as the Orientation teacher, and also helped the new trainees with their gifts.  She had also made friends with the twin heirs, Kris and Lyra.  They both had been chosen the year before her, and would be on circuit for their internee period if not for the fact that they were the heirs.  As such, they were spending their internee periods helping out Kerowyn.  From what she had heard from Elspeth, Devina didn't envy them._

            _:What__ about Cy and Jemmie?:  said Taliesin._

            _:Well__, Cy's out for her internee period, so I can't talk to her right now.  And Jemmie…:  she trailed off, ending in a Sending that was purely confusion at that relationship.  Things with Jemmie were just so…odd.   Since that day in the Healer's Collegium, he had actually kissed her only once, during the Heralds midwinter party.  But then, they had both drunk a bit too much, so Devina didn't really know what it had meant.  And Jemmie had acted like it had never happened, so Devina had done the same.  _

            _:I know I'm at least attracted to him,: said Devina,  __:but he doesn't seem to like me like that.  It's confusing.  He's_ confusing.:__

            _:I've__ spoken with Eris in passing about it, but he won't talk to her about you, besides you not being around.:_

            _:And__ I hate that!: Devina said, sending frustration and a little unhappiness.  __:I_ want to spend time with him, but I just have so much work to do as Queen's Own.  I barely ever see him anymore, especially since he's getting intensive training on his fetching gift.  Does Eris know why he's having so much trouble?:__

            _:I've__ tried to get her to tell me, but she's close-lipped about it.  However,: he said.  _:I___ suspect it has something to do with his father having fetching as his gift.:_

            _:Di__-didn't Dirk use his fetching to rescue Talia?:_

            _:Yes__, with some help from us Companions and Elspeth.:_

            _:Then__ maybe he is reminded of that every time he tries to use it.:_

            _:Hmm__…: said Taliesin.  __:That_ very well might be.:_ _

            Devina rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.  _:Well__, I won't be able to help anyone if I don't sleep.:  She pulled off her boots and pulled the blanket around her, not bothering to take off her trainee uniform.  __:G'night__ Taliesin.:_

            She didn't hear his reply because she was already asleep.

* * * * *

            She stood on the crest of a massive sand dune, a strong wind whipping at her hair and making the strange clothes she wore flutter.  It was loose pants and a loose wrap-around tunic, both a blood red color.  The sash about her waist was orange.

            She looked up, and saw a mass of black moving on the horizon.   As she looked, her eyes seemed to sharpen until she could see the shapes clearly.  They were men, running easily on the shifting sands and dressed in white robes.  They all had long, shaggy blond hair that flashed in the sunlight as they ran.  And they ran toward her.

            She suddenly felt an intense need to stop them, a need so powerful that she could not deny it.  She flung up her hands and let the fires loose, releasing the floodgates.  The flames raced over the dunes, leaving glassy hills in their wake.  They struck the men, and many screamed and perished, and yet they kept coming.  Devina fell deeper into her Firestarting gift letting rage build within her at the nerve of these men.  She built a firewall, long and thick and wide.  She became the fire, screaming with malicious glee every time one of the strange men died.  The fire _was _alive, and it wanted to share this feeling with her, this energy, this malicious force.  Then the wall broke, and men spilled out like ants, continuing over the sand.  

            But suddenly it was no longer sand, or even sand dunes.  They ran through the castle, killing and murdering as they went.  Kerowyn and Eldan stood back to back, fighting till they were finally overcome by the numbers.  Elspeth and Darkwind fought with both magic and fists, and in the end Final Striked together.  Alberich was cut down defending the Queen, and Selenay died at her Companion's side.  Devina could see all this, moved among it, but no one knew her or saw her.  Then, suddenly:

            "Devina!"

            She whirled to see Jemmie holding off a pair of them with a sword and long knife.  Then one of them got under his guard, and stabbed him in his side, just below his rib cage.  He stumbled and fell to his knees.  The men left him to die slowly, and Devina ran forward and held him in his arms.

            "Jemmie, oh Jemmie…" she said, tears running down her cheeks.  He looked at her with clouded eyes.

            "The lady that I cherish is enamoured of a fool…" he said, and smiled.  Then his eyes went dead and he fell limp.  

            "No, Jemmie…" she said softly, picking at his shirt as if he were only sleeping.  Then he suddenly sat up and grabbed her arms so hard it hurt.  His eyes were milky white.

            "The Li'Cathao are coming," he said, his voice harsh and grating, and not his own.  "Will you be ready girl-child?  Will you?!  You're not now!"  The thing grabbed her and began to shake her violently, it's fingers digging into her arms, it's bared teeth becoming long and sharp and bloodstained, and it's face twisting and contorting in a-

            _:Devina__!:_

Devina woke with a gasp, clutching a hand to her heart as she took deep shuddering breaths.  She jumped suddenly and smacked at her blankets, where a small fire had started on her blanket.  Then she blinked and willed the fire away, and it died down instantly.    

_:You__ had the dream again, didn't you?: Taliesin asked._

_:Yes__,: she sent.  _:It___ was the same as all the other times, except for at the end.  Something was in Jemmie's dead body.:  She sent the last few moments of her dream to him.  _

_:Interesting__.: he said.  Devina shivered and rubbed her arms, then flinched.  She looked at her arm fearfully and slowly pulled up her sleeve.  On her arm was a bruise in the shape of a hand.  Where the fingers ended she was bleeding slightly._

_:What's__ wrong?: he said, sensing her distress.  She sent him the image of her bruised arm, too stunned to use words._

_:Oh__ my,: he said, and Devina could tell he was just as puzzled and alarmed as she was._

~~~~~~

Yeah, I got tired of that break thing I was doing.  It was annoying.

Link:  Oooooooohh… that was mysterious.

What are you doing here?

Link: Expanding my horizons.

Well stop it, you've only been in here a few lines and you're already giving me a migraine.

(Exunt Link)

Yes, that is Link from Zelda, yes, he is a twit, and no, I'm not going to explain.  If you want an explanation, read my Zelda fanfic, _A Link to my World_.

**Reader Response**

Dream Keeper:  I think we discussed Talia and Rolan already.  ^_^

Stee Parker: Thanks for the compliment, and convoluted as it was.

Lady Silver Dragon I:  Puppy-dog eyes of doom and a sugar high!?!?  The terror, the terror, the-can I have a pixie stix?

Xenya:  Thank you, Thank you, and I'm sorry I took so long.

Evar:  Hmm…I think that might be possible…

Linda:  I thought you might. ;^)

Kalyra Shadowdancer:  Thanks so much, and I'm sorry I took so long.

Cat: W's B is gone now!  Yayayayayayayayayayayayayayay! And did I mention Yay?

Once again, I'm very sorry for taking so long in updating. 

Laters!

-ER-


	13. Chapter 11

Crappy chapter.  I'm feeling crappy about this story.  I'm not sure if I'm going to continue, but there is certainly going to be a break until I can figure out what I'm going to do with this.  If this makes somebody pissy, I'm sorry.  That's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Disclaimer: Yah, whatever, we all know I'm borrowing most of the characters, so what's the point of saying it again.

~~~~~

After the next days Council Meeting, Devina caught Griffon before he left.  "Griffon, could I talk to you?"

            He didn't look at her, continuing to put away his papers.  "About what?"

            "Could we talk somewhere private?"

            "Why, do you have something to say that shouldn't be spoken in public?"

            "Well, no-"

            "Then talk while you walk, Queen's Own." He picked up his bag and walked out the door.  Devina had to walk at a fairly fast pace to match the strides of his long legs.

            "Griffon, I feel like I missed something with you," she said.  "I mean, I know you didn't find it funny when I set your Whites on fire, but it was just a joke, and I apologized, and now you seem to have-"

            "-You didn't."

            "Didn't what?"

            "Apologize.  You never apologized."

            "Oh," said Devina.  "Well then, I'm sorry."

            "Can you say that in Mindspeech?  Or were you just saying that to make me like you better?"

            :I'm sorry,: said Devina.  He stopped and looked at her.  "I'm sorry I upset you and made you angry.  I just thought of it as a joke, but it wasn't funny to you, so I'm sorry.  I'm also sorry that you held onto it so long, and that I didn't apologize sooner.   And I'm sorry that I have to come to you now, when I could have come to you sooner, and perhaps things now would be different.  So, I'm sorry."

            :Well done,: Taliesin whispered in her mind.

            Griffon stared at her for a while, his face unreadable, his blue eyes searching her face.  She thought that maybe his Harevis was speaking with him, but she couldn't be sure. Finally he sighed.

            "You shouldn't be the one to apologize," he said, his face becoming frank and open.  "I should be apologizing to you.  To be honest, I was jealous of you.  Jealous that you had more power, and that you could control it better."

            "But we have the same gift-"

            "And you can control it better than I can.  You don't have to face the dragon every time you use your gift."

            "Not every time, but I have faced it," Devina said.  "It fought me when Talia was dying.  When the dragon inside you gets loose, it's not that much damage.  But with me…I can never let it get loose.  It would destroy me and everyone in Haven, not to mention Haven itself."

            "I know," said Griffon.  "That's also why I was angry at you.  You have so much power, but you can also use it so lightly.  Using my firestarting gift is difficult, and it's so draining.  I hated you for using it so easily."  He looked away from her now, his jaw clenched.

            "Griffon," said Devina.  He turned and looked at her.  "I forgive you.  I absolve you of everything that's happened badly since I met you.  Will you do me the same?"

            Griffon smiled.  "I forgive you, Herald Devina," he said.  He looked at her for a moment, then spoke.  "I was about to go visit Harevis.  Would you care to join me?"

            "Sure," said Devina.  "Though, Tali is so spoiled, I'm not sure he needs more attention."  Taliesin chuckled in the back of her mind.

            "Oh, so is Farist," said Griffon, using his pet name for Harevis.  "I give her more attention than is good for her."

            They walked off to Companion's Field, chatting amiably.  Anyone who saw them then would have thought they had been longtime friends. 

~~~~~~

Yeah, that's it for now.  I might have something again in a month or so.  Again, this story will not have reliable updates.  Sorry.

Reader Review Response  
  


Fireblade K'Chona: That's uh…nice…*backs away slowly*

Katsiebee:  Being hyper is a good thing!

Stee:  I think I meant convoluted, which is another way of saying complicated.

Kalyra Shadowdancer:  I don't know, it's a mystery!...actually, I'm not too sure myself.  I think at one time I knew.  But I forgot. ^_^=

Tsukinoko1:  I'll try.  Thanks for reviewing.

Queen's Own: 'Tis a good word, freaky.  I like it. 

Book Angel:  Well, tis a little off for Christmas…how 'bout as a Saint Patricks day present?

Lady Silver Dragon I:  Yay, pixie!!!!  And yeah, I did notice that then.

Starred Ice:  I'm glad you like it so much.

Magical Myth:  Look!!! See?!?!  I posted!! Happiness!!

Willowliz:  It would be evil of me to not finish it.  And I actually have something like that meeting thing written down…somewhere…*goes to dive into pile of papers*

Thanks for reviewing!!

Do it again!! 


	14. Chapter 12

So right.

Restarted by popular demand.

I like to think I'm a better writer now. But that wasn't why I quit this story for a while.

But thanks to all the people who kept telling me to continue it. You all finally got through. Congrats.

Haha. On with the story.

------------------------------------------

Devina stood in front of Jemmie, a slow blush spreading across her cheek as she said, "Jemmie, I know that I haven't been able to spend much time with you, but I just want you to know that I-"

_:Chosen:_

_:Hmm:_ he murmured, slipping abruptly out of his daydream. He stared down at his assignments, thinking fiercely about past trade agreements between Karse and Valdemar, and not his best friend whom he couldn't stop thinking about. He should have said something after the Herald's midwinter festival, when he'd let his drink get the better of him, and he'd kissed her. But she hadn't said anything about it, though she blushed when she saw him again. Jemmie couldn't help but think that maybe it had just been a mistake to her too.

_:You know, you could talk to her.:_ said Eris. _:I'm sure that would clear up the whole thing.:_

_:When: _said Jemmie dourly. _:If she's not in a meeting, then she's in training, or meeting with officials, or a million other official duties. And besides: _he continued:what would we talk about:

_:Well for starters, you could talk about those daydreams you've been having:_ said Eris. _:You can try to deny it all you like, but your daydreams don't lie.:_

_:They're just… thoughts.:_ said Jemmie. _:They don't …necessarily…mean anything…:_

_:Right:_ said Eris, though her tone said she didn't believe him. Jemmie sighed heavily. _:Fine:_ said Eris. _:But you would have more time if you could get in touch with your Fetching.:_

_:I know:_ said Jemmie. _:It's just-: _he sighed. Since his parent's death, Jemmie had lost focus with his gift. He couldn't concentrate on what he was trying to fetch, and he didn't know why. Because it wasn't a volatile gift, it wasn't imperative for him to be in control of it; but he felt useless, being unable to help, and unable to move on in his training.

_:Devina could help you:_ said Eris.

_:I know:_ Jemmie sighed. It was true. He could go to Devina, and ask her to help him find what blocked him from his gift. But he would not. Jemmie wanted this block gone, but he couldn't let Devina in, and see all his emotions and frailties laid bare. She could help him, but she would bring him to his knees.

_:So melodramatic:_ Eris observed.

Jemmie sighed. _:I know. I just – let me deal with this my own way, all right:_

_:Fine:_ Eris said, though it was obvious that she would much rather not leave him to his own devices. Companion or not, she could be insufferable sometimes.

_:I heard that:_ she said indignantly.

_:I know:_ said Jemmie cheerfully, immersing himself in his work once again.

-------------------------------------------------

As the council ended for the day, Devina found herself smiling. It had gone well, better than it ever had before. It was true that several of the councilors were not particularly receptive to her opinions, but at least they listened. Patching things up with Griffon last week seemed to have helped her on the council. And while she couldn't know whether he had said anything to them or not, she doubted that the councilors would change their minds without some…encouragement.

But even so, she thought dourly, it is still hard to be the Queen's Own effectively when the Queen is thirty years my senior. The councilors did listen to her opinion, and she might be able to weigh their true feelings, but she couldn't do much more than that. The same problems that had come up with Talia as Queen's Own were being brought up again, only much quieter. What if Devina was swaying the council?

And it was hard for her to say if she was or she wasn't. How could she tell what influence was her natural charisma, and what was her Gift expressing itself. The Queen assured them that she had been taught by Talia, so there should be no problems at all, but the suspicion persisted. After all, Devina wasn't Talia. How could they know Devina's motives?

_:But I'm a Herald:_ Devina cried abruptly, reaching out for her Companion. _:And I owe the Collegium my life, for taking me in and protecting me when the Guard could have easily had me hanged.:_

_:They forget, Chosen:_ said Taliesin. _:All they see is a youngling with abilities they don't understand, raised to a seat of great power. It's hard for them not to be wary of that.:_

_:I know, I know:_ Devina sighed. Sometimes Taliesin was a bit too much like the voice of reason in her head. But he was right, and besides, being indignant and sad about it would never help her.

"Devina?"

She looked up at the sound of her name, and smiled at Griffon. He stood awkwardly, holding an unwieldy pile of papers in his hands. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you handled yourself well today," he said. "And this week as well."

"Well," said Devina. "It helps when there isn't a solid wall of dislike emanating from one person." She immediately regretted her words, and began to stumble over an apology, but Griffon shook his head.

"No, you have a right to feel in some way wronged. I did you a disservice, disliking you as I did. And I forgot that you are not so solid an empath yet as Talia was. I let my emotions spill over, without even thinking whether or not it would impair your ability to read the council."

"Ah, but in that lies the problem I now face," said Devina. "Convincing the council that while I may not be as wise as lady Talia was, I am still as loyal to the crown as she was."

"They'll understand in time," said Griffon. "Just be patient."

"Aye, aye," muttered Devina. "You sound just like Taliesin."

Griffon laughed. "Well perhaps Taliesin and I are in agreement then. We both want you to be happy." Griffon met her eyes then, and there was an unexpected intensity to his gaze, and a touch of an emotion that made her flush.

"Griffon, I-" she paused, unable to find any words. "Thank you."

"No need for thanks, Queen's Own," he said with a smile. That touch of affection beyond mere friendship was as gone as suddenly as she had felt it. Devina was hardly sure she had sensed it at all. "Have a good evening."

Devina didn't move as she watched him leave the room, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone in the council room. She sat down in her chair heavily, her mind a jumble of confusion.

_:Well that was unexpected:_ said Taliesin.

_:So that wasn't just my imagination:_ said Devina.

_:Definitely not:_ said Taliesin. _:There's definitely some attraction there.:_

:I'd never thought of him that way before: she said. And she hadn't, because besides the fact that he had seemed to blatantly hate her until recently, he was also many years her senior. But as she thought of it now, she found herself intrigued by the idea. After all, she'd never really had a romantic relationship with anyone; at least, not one that wasn't on a purely physical basis. _:And yet…:_

Taliesin understood her unformed thought._ :I suggest you leave it alone for now, Chosen:_ he said._ :If he does have intentions toward you, it is likely he hasn't realized it yet. Give him time to decide for himself…and give yourself time as well.:_

_:That sounds wise: _said Devina.

_:Also, you should talk to Jemmie:_ said Taliesin.

_:What does he have to do with any of this: _Devina asked.

_:Oh, I didn't mean that way: _said Taliesin, _:though there is the question of that relationship as well… but I more meant in regards to his fetching gift.:_

_:We've talked about this before. He won't let me.:_

_:He won't ask you to. But maybe if you offer it to him, he'll be more open to it:_ he suggested.

_:I don't know: _said Devina. She was sure that Jemmie wouldn't take her help. And she wasn't sure that she'd be willing to give it. After all, she was trained, but still clumsy. And she knew that there might be thoughts he wouldn't want her to see, feelings he'd want to hide. She was worried she might learn too much of his secret self. No, Jemmie wasn't about to let her in just yet. She sent all of these thoughts to Taliesin, and she felt him nod in agreement.

_:You are wiser than your years:_ Taliesin said sagely.

_:Oh hush:_ Devina teased. _:You're just flattering me so I'll come down to the stables and brush you.:_

_:Just because that's my reason doesn't mean what I said wasn't true.:_ He said indignantly. Devina laughed as she made her way down the hall to her room to drop off her papers before she went out for a brief stolen moment of freedom with Taliesin. Later she would realize the wisdom of stealing away those little moments, when she had no time at all to spare.

-------------------------------------------------

Well I hope that was all right for you all.

I won't review response, except for the few people who asked questions, but thanks to

PrettyKittyOreo, faeborn2930, Fireblade K'Chona, Zila Kaelar, Queen's Own, Dramaswimer, Melisande Mab, Kathleen McCrory, levele, RainbowAlchemist, and SwiftShadow for encouraging me to continue.

And special thanks to zafaran, for writing such a thoughtful review that reminded me what I was trying to do writing this story.

And Paige….I'm thinking not. I haven't really decided ;; lol

Thanks guys!

--ER


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